Newsletter Articles
Gardening Tips for Coastal Homes in Southern California
Written by Kelsey W.
Southern California is known for its sunshine and streets lined with palm trees, but if you’re near the coast, you’re used to mornings filled with a familiar marine layer and a weather pattern that doesn’t always match what you’ll see the forecasters show for the High Desert or the San Fernando Valley.
Temperatures don’t usually get as cold at the coast as they do inland, and the temperatures aren’t usually as hot, either. Sure, you’ll get some extremes, but the highs and lows are often only ten or twenty degrees apart, especially in the mild months during the spring and fall.
As such, there are some plants you can choose that wouldn’t necessarily survive if you were located in the Inland Empire and had temperatures that regularly topped 100 degrees in the summer and sank below or reached freezing in the winter.
Here are some ideas for your Southern California coastal garden, whether you have a sloping yard that overlooks the Pacific or a condo balcony that welcomes the marine layer every morning.
Drought-Tolerant Plants are Still Important Near the Coast
It’s easy to assume that water is more abundant near the coast because it’s right near the Pacific Ocean, but Southern California remains a rather arid place even when you live near the beach. It’s mostly the ambient weather that changes around you rather than the amount of groundwater in your yard.
Therefore, it’s still important to focus on finding beautiful yet drought-tolerant plants to fill your landscape so you can enjoy a beautiful environment around your home without putting too much pressure on the state’s water supply or your own monthly water bills.
Coastal homes do have access to some drought-tolerant plants that might not have as easy a time if they were planted inland. Some of these plants rarely need any water at all, especially once they’re established and have a good root system.
For example, the Catalina Ironwood or “Lyonothamnus floribundus,” is an ideal tree to plant along the street of your coastal California home, but the tree might not fare so well if you plant it inland where the landscape starts to look like a desert. You can also plant the tree as a shade tree in your backyard.
Also known as the Santa Cruz Island Ironwood or the fern-leaf ironwood, the tree can grow to a towering 30 feet and will display little white flowers in the summertime. The tree remains green all year long, like many trees along the coast, and it’s even easy to care for with minimal watering needs once it’s established.
Cover Your Walls and Fences in Vines
One option for getting a really green environment within your coastal garden or yard is to choose a vining plant that will climb up a fence or along a wall. Along the coast, one of the most popular options is the classic Bougainvillea, which you’ll see in a beautiful array of colors like orange, pink, and white.
If you read up on this vining plant, most literature on the plant will indicate it grows about three feet high, but remember that it can curl around itself and grow much further as it turns into a giant bushy expanse. It’s important to trim your Bougainvillea, especially if it’s not a dwarf variety that’s designed to remain compact.
Just be aware that Bougainvillea does have some spiny parts on it, so if you plant it somewhere that you don’t have a lot of room (like on the side of your house with a narrow walkway), you’ll need to keep it trimmed to avoid having it poke out at you when you walk by it.
Another gorgeous vining plant that will love living near the coast, especially with the wet marine layer that will keep the vines lush and healthy is the morning glory. The Anacapa Pink Island Morning Glory or “Calystegia macrostegia” is an excellent option for coastal homes, but virtually any morning glory variety will climb vigorously along any coastal California trellis.
And that’s one thing to remember: morning glory vines need a thin trellis to climb. They won’t latch onto a wall or solid fence. They need little wires or a thin trellis to wrap their vines around for climbing. You can actually plant morning glories in pots with a trellis and watch them climb all over your porch or balcony, even if you don’t have a traditional yard.
Planting Succulents Near the California Coast
If you’re in an arid environment in Southern California, it’s important to create a careful watering schedule for your plants, as well as find good placement where they won’t get burned by too much sun. Succulents are often sun-lovers, but even they can get a little torched under the Southern California sun.
That’s not generally the case, however, when you bring your succulents to the coast. Instead, you’ll want to find a place with as much sun as possible because the cloudy days at the coast will reduce how much sun your succulents get.
You might notice some succulents getting a little leggy when you plant them at the coast. That’s because they are searching for more sunlight, and they’re stretching themselves, trying to find it! A west-facing window, balcony, or yard is a great place for the plants to receive some bright afternoon sun.
Also, once your succulents find a sunny spot, they’ll have exceptionally low watering needs, especially when they’re in the ground. You can almost forget about them for an entire season, and they’ll just happily grow for months.
If you want to plant a succulent that will grow so happily that it’ll get as big as a bush, try a jade plant or “Crassula ovata.” When left to grow without interference, they’ll get up to four feet tall, and you’ll probably never have to take a watering can to them once they’re established unless they’re in a pot. They will even give you flowers when they’re really happy.
Flowers for Your Coastal California Home
One of the perks of living in Southern California is that the landscape tends to remain green throughout the entire year, especially on the coast. You’ll see plants blooming all year long, even if they’re not meant to bloom in the winter.
For example, if you grow Calla lilies, you might see them growing flowers in the middle of December and every other month, too, even though they’re supposed to go through a period of downtime where they’re all but hibernating until the next growing season.
If you enjoy a summer garden with flowers, consider Sundrops, which are perennials that grow anywhere from eight to 18 inches tall, depending on the type. They always have gorgeous yellow flowers (hence the name), and they tend to bloom in the spring and summer. However, you can often get them blooming much longer in Southern California, especially where the weather is milder on the coast.
Another flower that will love a coastal garden and that’s also great in a container is any type of Coreopsis. The “Coreopsis maritime” or San Diego Sea-Dahlia is a beautiful option and can grow almost three feet tall when they’re really happy. Coreopsis plants are available in bright, sunny colors like orange and yellow, and they sort of look like a complicated daisy.
A stunning alternative to the classic blooming flower plant is a purple sage or “Salvia leucophylla,” which is a dramatic grayish-white plant that grows purple flowers in the spring. One of the beneficial aspects of this plant, too, is that it helps with erosion control, so it’s a great option if you home is on a hillside.
Let’s Get Your Garden Growing in Southern California with Green Thumb Nursery
Your coastal California garden is due for some fun updates and new plant friends. Let’s talk about how you can bring some new greenery and beauty to your home. The plant experts at Green Thumb Nursery are always here to offer their advice on plant choice and landscaping improvements for your home.
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