Preserving natural ecosystems and the native food web isn’t only for large swaths of undeveloped land. A new movement encourages suburban and urban residents to create habitats for birds, insects and wildlife by growing native plants in their yards. By foregoing part of the lawn, removing a few non-native shrubs and making careful plant selections, home gardeners can help increase biodiversity and support the natural ecosystem.

For example, baby birds primarily eat caterpillars for growth and energy, and native plants are crucial for supporting the caterpillar population. By planting native plants gardeners provide a food source for caterpillars, which in turn supports baby birds. 

To inspire Fresno County residents to consider more native plants, the UC Master Gardener Program set aside an area at the Garden of the Sun to grow an intriguing blend of California species for visitors to see. A group of volunteers tilled and reconfigured garden beds, installed new irrigation lines and placed adobe bricks to delineate an accessible walking path through the planting.

The team scoured local nurseries, pored over online stores and visited nurseries in Southern California and the Central Coast area to collect native plants to display. Among the two dozen natives now growing in the garden are a golden berry toyon, two types of penstemon, golden and apricot chiffon poppies, manzanita, two types of salvia, asters, monkey flowers and many others. Master Gardener Janet Patton Veek, the team leader, was delighted to find Wooley blue curls at a nursery in Santa Margarita. It’s a relatively rare native that won’t stand for any summer water after it has been established. For this plant and some others, the native plant garden beds have a drip irrigation system that allows the gardeners to turn off and on individual emitters. 

A mature Asian pear stands proudly among the California natives in the garden. 

“It produces wonderful fruit, and we don’t want people to think that, just because you’re putting natives in, you have to yank everything out of your yard,” Patten Veek said. “We left the Asian pear.”

Because native plants are adapted to California’s Mediterranean climate, they are also drought tolerant, rarely suffer pest infestations and need little to no fertilizer. Perhaps most importantly, they are also beautiful. Unfamiliar gardeners may think all natives turn brown and weedy in the summertime, but there are California natives that don’t. By choosing those plants, natives can offer a blooming green display almost year-round. 

This is important to Master Gardener Debbie DiNoto, a landscape architecture student who drew up the native garden design and plant list. 

“My home is part of an HOA, so I’m interested in plants that do not go through summer dormancy. My yard has mostly California natives. They stay green or have beautiful silver foliage all year long,” DiNoto said. “They are absolutely wonderful plants.”

The public is invited to visit the Native Plant Garden at the Garden of the Sun, 1750 N. Winery Ave., Fresno. Admission is free and the garden is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8 to 11 a.m. 

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Written by UC Master Gardener Jeannette Warnert.