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REGION: Inland Empire Garden Friendly plants attract wildlife

18.05.12

Aside from saving water, one of the best things about planting Inland Empire Garden Friendly plants is their ability to quickly turn your property into a scenic wildlife habitat.

“It’s amazing how quickly it happens,” said Katherine Botts, a Master Gardener with the UC Riverside Cooperative Extension. “They just naturally attract butterflies and hummingbirds and other types of birds.”

But while California native, Australian, South American, Mediterranean, and South African plants that fall under the Inland Empire Garden Friendly label are relatively easy to maintain once they get established, Botts says they will require extra care at the outset to ensure that they survive the hot summer months.

Here’s what she recommends:

Make your plant selections carefully: If this is your first time planting Inland Empire Garden Friendly plants, start with the easiest ones, such as rosemary, dwarf sweet pea shrub, Santa Barbara daisies, and David Austin or Knockout roses, while saving more sensitive plants, such as phormium and grevillea, and California natives, for fall planting so that they can be watered well and established at a time when they would naturally receive more water with winter rains.

Source: Press-Enterprise