We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

From the looks of many people’s landscaping here in town, you’d think

we live in the Midwest. Yards all over town sport emerald green

grassy lawns, rose bushes, jewel-toned impatiens and other

water-thirsty plants.

Well, guess what -- we don’t live in Ohio or Oregon or New

England, although many of us moved here from such places. Orange

County has grown from a sleepy rural enclave of 300,000 people in the

early 1950s to its present size, a teeming three-million people.

Obviously that’s not due solely to reproduction. That huge population

increase is due largely to people moving here from somewhere else.

When these new arrivals put down roots in their chosen land -- and

who wouldn’t choose this fabulous town to live in -- they want their

yards to look like “back home.” Where it probably rained 40 inches a

year, not the 12 to 14 inches that we normally receive here on the

coast.

Grassy lawns and rose gardens are fine for people who live in the

Midwest or Pacific Northwest, where they get enough rain to grow

dense hardwood forests or towering redwoods with a ferny understudy.

But we live in a virtual desert. We don’t have enough rain to keep

things green naturally except for a few short months each year.

Why do we persist in growing plants that don’t belong here?

Because water is so cheap. We are able to grow plants with high water

requirements because we can just turn on the spigot and get all the

water we want.

We are used to the idea that we can get all the water we need to

grow whatever we want. But should we do that? We live in Southern

California. We should have gardens that reflect a native landscape.

The local birds and insects would appreciate being able to find some

of the plants they used to feed upon. Think about it: In the past 50

years, developers have converted huge areas of natural landscape to

homes and businesses. These areas almost always get landscaped with

nonnative vegetation, plants that require two to three times more

water than what was growing there before.

There are many beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees that grow

naturally on the coast with only the water that nature gives them.

With only a little additional water supplementation, these plants can

remain lush and flowering throughout the year. If you think that

California native plants are just a collection of cactus and brown

things, think again. The flowers of coastal sages vary from deep

scarlet to lilac to electric blue. Buckwheat and narrow-leafed

milkweed bloom with big flower heads colored in delicate pinks and

whites -- and the butterflies love them. Monkeyflower comes in reds,

oranges and yellows, but fuchsia-flowering gooseberry comes only in

-- surprise -- fuchsia. The colors are great, but the highlight is

the aroma! You won’t believe how wonderfully strong and varied the

smells can be until you grow your own native plant garden.

There is a real need to shift our thinking away from water-craving

vegetation toward a more natural and environmentally friendly plant

palette. As our population has increased, our water supply has

actually decreased. The droughts that have come with global warming

have resulted in a reduction of our water supply from both the

Colorado Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountains. In order to grow lush

green foreign gardens, we have to import tremendous amounts of water

at a huge cost. That’s not just financial cost, but environmental

cost. We’re taking water that rightfully belongs in the mountain and

river ecosystems that it came from.

It doesn’t have to be like this. If more people would landscape

their yards with native plants, we could reduce water consumption

dramatically. Half of all household water use is taken by

landscaping.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to get started with a California

native plant garden. There is a plant sale coming up this Saturday in

Huntington Beach Central Park. The Friends of Shipley Nature Center

will have a display showing how beautiful these native plants can be,

and will have many varieties for purchase for a modest price. By

buying some of these plants to plant your own California native plant

garden, you will not only be saving water, you’ll be helping to

support the Friends’ efforts to restore and reopen Shipley Nature

Center.

If you would like to support the plant sale, but you don’t have

the space to dedicate to a California native garden at this time or

you’re not quite ready to rip out your roses, there is still

something you can do. You can buy a plant and have a Scout plant it

at the nature center. Or you can plant it there yourself. Or you can

plant some of the coast sunflowers, California sage, bladderpod and

other plants that the Friends will provide for planting in the area

to be restored that day. Tools are also provided.

The plant sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., unless all the

plants are sold first. The restoration workday at Shipley Nature

Center will go from 9 a.m. to noon, with informal seminars throughout

the morning on how to grow a native plant garden. It’s surprisingly

easy. Let’s have our gardens and yards reflect the truly beautiful

landscape of this glorious state.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.