An Amazing Resource for Native Plants – Calscape.org

The website www.calscape.org is your one-stop-shop for information about California native plants. Sponsored by the California Native Plant Society, Calscape.org hosts a database that you can use to find the native plants that will grow the best in your local area. Their goal is to “help Californians restore nature and save water one garden at a time. We do this by showing people which plants are really native to any location in the state, helping them figure out which ones they want, and where to buy them and how to grow them.”

To use the database, you simply enter your address in the location bar and then select the conditions and desired features you want – full sun, partial sun, full shade, water use, ease of care, color, height, fragrance, season of bloom, purpose and availability – and click Search. You then will get a list of plants with pictures that you can click on to find out all the details about that plant. 

For example, entering San Ramon as your location, you find there are 714 plants native to San Ramon. Number 1, is Big Berry Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca) and Number 2 is Blueblossom Ceanothus (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus). If you click on the picture of ceanothus, you’ll find more pictures, a map of where it commonly grows, and lots of details about how many butterflies and moths it hosts and pictures of which ones, how big it grows, when it blooms, and more.

It is a totally cool resource for plant nerds like us – as well as beginning native plant enthusiasts and an easy and fun way to learn about the plants and butterflies in your area!