California Native Gardening: Rewilding Los Angeles Landscaping
California Buckwheat (eriogonum fasciculatum)
With such an array of beautiful and unique plant life, it’s no wonder more and more people are opting to replace their lawns with California native gardens. The state of California is a biodiversity hotspot, with 61% of its plant life found nowhere else in the world. (1) There are many benefits to rewilding our gardens with California native plants. They can reduce our environmental footprint by using less water and creating habitats for local insects and animals, enriching the biodiversity of our local neighborhoods. We also have the pleasure of experiencing the emotional and mental health benefits that result from nurturing this environment and joyfully watching wildlife thrive amongst the beautiful wildflower blooms.
Coulter's Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)
As a Certified California Naturalist, Sarah enjoys expanding her knowledge of Californian native flora and fauna. She recently completed the California Native Plant Landscaper Certificate Program offered by the Theodore Payne Foundation. Developed in partnership with The California Native Plant Society, LADWP, and The US Green Building Council, Los Angeles, this course covers the steps involved in planting and maintaining a California native landscape, such as identifying soil type, choosing plant communities, irrigation, and pruning.
Palmer's Indian Mallow (Abutilon palmeri)
The Theodore Payne Foundation's best practices suggest developing a California native garden as a 4-year process. Although at first, a California native garden will likely require the same amount of water (or possibly more) than a lawn, a California native garden is a long-term investment towards drought tolerance and increasing local biodiversity.
Yerba Santa (Genus Eriodictyon)
Year one involves the initial steps of creating a plant list, mulching, evaluating the runoff potential of a site, sowing wildflowers, and staking young plants. Year two is more about maintaining the garden by raking, pruning, watering, re-mulching, sowing wildflower seeds, weeding, and removing struggling plants. Year three involves seasonal maintenance such as watering, pruning overgrown plants, weeding, and replanting. And year four involves pruning with long-term shaping in mind, weeding, replanting, and watering.
An important course component involves identifying what plants best suit the site based on soil qualities and plant communities. There are generally three soil types, sandy, loamy, and clay which vary in their infiltration rate, water-holding capacity, nutrient-holding capacity, and aeration. Plant communities are groups of plants that typically grow together in natural environments.
California Native gardens usually derive from the following plant communities:
Woolly Bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum)
Coastal Sage Scrub are plants that tend to grow low to the ground; they include many aromatic plants such as Artemisia, Buckwheat, Salvias, and Matilija Poppy as well as Deerweed.
Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
Chaparral is thick, dense growth that contains a lot of diversity and tends to burn easily. This group includes Chamise, Scrub Oak, Buckwheat, Matilija Poppy, and Toyon.
Desert is a very diverse community of plants that exist at various elevations, such as Cacti, Joshua trees, Agave, Abutilon-Palmeri (Mallow), and Saltbush.
Cholla Cactus (Genus Clindropuntia)
Riparian is a diverse community of plant species that usually exist streamside, creating vital habitat for California wildlife; this group includes plants such as Jancus, Carex, and Ferns.
California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)
Pruning is commonplace in any garden to shape and control the size of plants, stimulate growth, and improve overall plant health. Folks have very different opinions about pruning a California native garden; some believe the landscape should grow wild and natural, while others regularly prune to control shape and growth.
Tip pinching is often performed in California native gardens; this involves pinching new growth off the tips of certain plants or right after flowering to stimulate fuller growth. For example, Ceanothus is a plant that benefits from tip pinching after flowering.
Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea)
Deadheading is the practice of removing dead flowers from plants before they go to seed, this can improve the appearance of plants and prolong the flowering season for some. Deadheading is sometimes discouraged in California native gardens as birds like to feed on seeds. Allowing plants to go to seed creates a natural food source, plus we get the pleasure of watching wildlife interact with the native plants in our yard. Toyon is an excellent example of this; its flowers bring berries which become food for Robins, Waxwings, Thrushes, and other visiting birds.
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Embracing a California native garden is a rewarding transformation with many benefits, including eventual drought tolerance, reduced maintenance, and the generation of natural habitat that increases the biodiversity in our neighborhoods. There is also the added benefit of joy we experience through the mindful activity of watching birds, insects, and animals live and thrive in the ecosystem that we have created within our yards.
Works Cited
(1) “Explore the Biodiversity Hotspots.” CEPF, https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots.
(2) Theodore Payne Foundation. “California Native Plant Landscaper Certification.”
Sarah Barnard is a WELL and LEED accredited designer and creator of environments that support mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. She creates highly personalized, restorative spaces that are deeply connected to art and the preservation of the environment. An advocate for consciousness, inclusivity, and compassion in the creative process, Sarah has appeared in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Vogue, HGTV and many other publications. In 2017 Sarah was recognized as a "Ones to Watch" Scholar by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).
LA Textile: Organic, Sustainable and Recycled Fiber Fabrics
The Kale Tree design team had a great time visiting LA Textile at the California Market Center. We set out to meet the best new designers, manufacturers, mills, and printers in the heart of downtown Los Angeles and are excited about the new friends and connections we've made.
Organic textiles were at the top of our sourcing list. We're happy to report that there were an increasing number of suppliers with organic fabrics in varying weights and colors on the showroom floor. While natural and organic textiles were displayed from across the globe, we found a strong presence of Japanese mills with elegant certified organic cotton twills, batiste, canvas, and satin weaves.
We also connected with the folks at Cotton Incorporated and had an interesting chat about U.S. Cotton and the importance of traceability and transparency in cotton fiber textiles.
Recycled fiber textiles are another fabric we are especially interested in designing in our studio. While luxury-level recycled fiber textiles are still somewhat in limited offerings, we were pleased to connect with mills offering recycled polyesters, textiles made from recycled water bottles, and Seaqual fabrics made from recycled ocean plastics. We love to see mills working with recycled fiber yarns and especially support efforts to remove plastics from the ocean.
Custom-printed textiles are at the heart of what we do. We love fabric, and we find it incredibly rewarding to see our nature-inspired illustrations realized as drapery, bedding, pillows, and a host of other home decor items. At the LA Textile event, we were delighted to connect with like-minded folk who care about sustainability and wellness in design, sourcing, and production methods.
The Kale Tree design team is working on a new organic textile collection for 2023 featuring California native flora and fauna. Inspired by the local wildlife of our Southern California mountains, deserts, woodlands, and beaches, we look forward to sharing more with you soon!
Wallflower: A lesser-known floral blossoms into its moment with a new eco wallpaper
Kale Tree Founder Sarah Barnard is an advocate of all things nature. “Being in nature brings me great pleasure, and is the source of inspiration for much of my work,” says Barnard. “Setting aside time to enjoy and plant in my garden helps me decompress, and fully engage mentally and physically outside of my design practice.
Mallow Wallpaper in Midnight Forest. Image courtesy of Sarah Barnard Design.
Kale Tree Founder Sarah Barnard is an advocate of all things nature. “Being in nature brings me great pleasure, and is the source of inspiration for much of my work,” says Barnard. “Setting aside time to enjoy and plant in my garden helps me decompress, and fully engage mentally and physically outside of my design practice. After gardening, I feel re-energized, focused, and ready to return to work.” One of Sarah’s favorite plants is Mallow. She has three different varieties that she tends to in her garden.
A Mallow making a presence in Sarah’s garden.
Mallow is a free-flowering plant that blooms beautifully draping, lantern-shaped blossoms of all varieties of pinks, yellows, reds, and whites. There are about 200 species in this particular genus. Also referred to as the Flowering Maple, Chinese Lantern, and Indian Mallow, this shrub earned its names from its maple-like leaves, lantern shape flowers, and mallow genus. These shade-loving plants are delicate, requiring regular care and maintenance. This effort can be fruitful; however, as a happy Mallow can flower almost non-stop. These stunning plants are pollinator-friendly, attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees alike[1].
While most commonly planted for ornamentation in gardens, the Mallow has qualities that benefit health and well-being. Some Mallow species have a history of medicinal uses for emollient, analgesic, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory purposes, to name a few[2]. Their flowers produce nectar, making them slightly sweet and astringent[3]. Floriography, the language of flowers, suggests that Abutilon symbolizes Meditation[4].
Out of pure adoration of this plant, Kale Tree created a line of botanical wallpapers inspired by the Mallow.
The line drawing for the wallpaper began as the annual letterpress holiday card for Sarah’s interior design studio. The Kale Tree team reworked and expanded the original illustration into a pattern for wallpaper and textiles. Photographs of Mallows in Sarah’s garden were used as references to develop the drawing. Kale Tree designers chose to render the Mallow in a larger than life scale to highlight their extraordinary beauty and bring a contemporary feel to the notion of traditional floral wallpaper. The color palette was adapted from Victorian Era paintings as a nod to art history, marrying classical with contemporary. Pink is utilized generously throughout the illustrations as it happens to be one of Sarah’s favorite colors. “Clients seldom choose to incorporate pink into their spaces, so Kale Tree is my outlet to explore and indulge in this color,” says Sarah.
Kale Tree’s eco-friendly wallpaper features a subtle surface texture and a hand-drawn pattern. It is available in three colorways: Midnight Forest, Evening Mauve, and Dusty Dawn. Designed with nature in mind, this product is a PVC-free, type II wallpaper made with 31% post consumer, recycled canvas, and printed with a VOC-free process free of solvents. The wallpaper is 33 inches wide by 18 feet long and is sold per 49.5 square foot roll. Kale Tree aims to promote health and wellbeing through introducing our healthful, ethically produced goods inspired by the intersection of art, design, and nature.
You can pre-order for Spring 2021 here.
References
[1] Mahr, Susan. “Flowering Maple, Abutilon Spp.” Master Gardener Program, 5 Aug. 2020, mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu/article/flowering-maple-abutilon-spp/.
[2] Rajeshwari S, Sevarkodiyone SP (2018) Medicinal properties of Abutilon Indicum. Open J Plant Sci 3(1): 022-025. DOI: 10.17352/ojps.000011.
[3] “Abutilon Striatum (Red Vein Indian Mallow).” Gardenia.net, www.gardenia.net/plant/abutilon-striatum.
[4] Deitz, S. Theresa. Floriography Today: The Symbolic Meanings & The Possible Powers of Trees, Plants and Flowers. 2012.