Spring Is Here! California Native Plants Blooming in April - Sages, Penstemons, Poppies, and More.

After a long sleepy winter, my California native plant garden in the Central Sierra Nevada foothills near Coarsegold, CA is finally in bloom! Join me for an April review of plants in bloom. This series follows my garden with monthly updates to create a record of how a native garden evolves over time. The garden is planted where there was originally a bermuda grass lawn, which was removed and mulched over in January of 2023. Some of the plants went in at that point, and many more were planted in June of 2023. Many plants didn't make it the first year, but the ones that did are now extremely strong! This video isn't a comprehensive update - I'll try to refrain from going over every single plant in every video, instead focusing on the ones that I have something interesting to share about. But, over all, I want this series to be a realistic portrayal of the struggles and successes of trying to establish native plants in the unique climate we have in this area of the country. Some of the plants that are blooming in this video include hummingbird sage (salvia spathaceae), Gracias Sage, Starlight Sage, Pozo Blue Sage, Brandegee's Sage, Allen Chickering Sage, Desert Penstemon (Penstemon pseudospectabilis), Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii), and Penstemon GMR White. Also blooming are Eleanor Monkeyflower, California Poppies, Ceanothus Ray Hartman, and California Redbud. I also take a peek at some wildflowers including Fiddleneck, Popcornflower, Bird's-Eye Gilia, Lupine, Tomcat clover, Baby Blue Eyes, and a few others.