California Native Plants for Gardening in Shandon and Inland SLO County

This presentation will describe California native plants well suited for gardening and landscapes in the Shandon area and other inland portions of the County where temperatures can be over 100℉ in the summer and below freezing in the winter. Bill Waycott and Zach Tanner with the San Luis Obispo chapter of the California Native Plant Society will discuss how to select, grow, and use local native plants in your garden. They will share a list of recommended plants for your inland garden with a photo tour of their desirable features, and a question-and-answer period at the end. This presentation is free to everyone at the Shandon Library and no reservation is required.

Uno de los representantes de la Sociedad de Plantas Nativas de California hablará sobre el tema en español y estará disponible para contestar sus preguntas y recomendarles cuales plantas nativas están adaptas a su región. Gracias.

On our chapter website, we have a SLO County native landscape planting guide which is especially helpful with five easy garden projects and steps to get your yard ready for a native garden. More resources for designing and maintaining native plant gardens are at our CNPS SLO website here.

After you get inspired to garden and grow natives, buy your native plants at the spring native plant sale. The San Luis Obispo chapter of the California Native Plant Society will hold their spring plant sale on Saturday, April 20, 2024 in the City of San Luis Obispo. A few weeks beforehand, our website will feature photos and descriptions of the plants that will be available at the sale. The website will be set up to allow pre-ordering; browsing and purchase of plants will also be available onsite on the April 20th sale date. Check our website calendar here in late March for details on the spring plant sale.

San Luis Obispo County is lucky to be home to Las Pilitas Nursery, one of the first nurseries entirely devoted to California Native Plants and conveniently located east of the town of Santa Margarita, closer to those in north county. The Las Pilitas Nursery website is a treasure trove of information about how to garden with native plants and additional background on California flora, landscape, and ecology.

Photograph of bladderpod (Cleomella arborea), an easy to grow native plant that does well in hot and dry areas, and attracts many pollinators.