California Native Wildflowers

In Western states, fall is the time for sowing California native wildflowers. When planted in the autumn, the plants have all winter to get established. The advantage to planting a mix is a glorious cascade of blossoms from very early spring to early summer. Most will generously reseed year after year.

Most of these flowers are annuals but there are a few perennials:

• Blue Flax – Linum lewisii
• Blue-eyed Grass – Sisyrinchium bellum
• California Poppy Coastal Form – Eschscholzia californica var. maritima
• Desert Marigold – Baileya multiradiata
• Narrowleaf Milkweed – Asclepias fascicularis
• Yellow-eyed Grass – Sisyrinchium californicum

There are so many glorious California wildflowers and my yard has just a fraction of them. I sowed most of them from seed but three beauties came with the property: Castilleja exserta (Owl’s Clover), Helianthus annuus (Sunflower) and Amsinckia menziesii (Fiddleneck).

Read about how to grow your own wildflower yard.