Festuca rubra (red fescue), Elymus glaucus (blue wildrye), and Nassella pulchra (purple needlegrass) are very tolerant of dry conditions, whereas Hordeum brachyantherum (meadow barley) needs a little help, at least into the summer, and Festuca californica (California fescue) and Deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hairgrass) need a permanently damp spot. You can have both dry and moist areas in your garden, but keep them separate so that all their companions thrive.

The perennial grasses provide a perfect visual and ecological matrix for wildflowers. Visualize Iris douglasiana (Douglas iris), Anaphalis margaritacea (pearly everlasting), Sidalcea malvaeflora (checkerbloom), Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear), Grindelia hirsutula (gumplant), Achillea millefolium (yarrow), Erysimum franciscanum (Franciscan wallflower), and Salvia spathacea (hummingbird sage) in a grassy meadow. In time, your garden can resemble this, and it is likely to provide a haven for butterflies and other flying or crawling creatures. Having many different kinds of plants growing together attracts a greater variety of visitors.

For those living outside the fog belt, here are three sun-loving plants that will thrive in full- to part-sun in the San Francisco Peninsula’s loamy, well-drained eastern soils. All three plants can and often do perform well in fog and sandy soils, but they are not true dune plants. If you live in a dune area, ask a CNPS salesperson if these plants are right for your particular garden.

Epilobium canum (California fuchsia, hummingbird trumpet) is a late bloomer - in the best way possible. After spring has sprung, and many of your favorite flowers have long gone to seed, the silver-leaved California fuchsia produces abundant, scarlet, trumpet-shaped flowers, two to three inches long. A favorite of hummingbirds, California fuchsia looks great spilling over concrete or rocks. Rhizomatous; blooms June to September.

Salvia spathacea (hummingbird sage) is sometims called "weedy." By that, they mean this aromatic sub-shrub thrives with little coddling. We like that. It is strongly rhizomatous, with large striking blood-red flowers that attract hummingbirds. Abundant on San Bruno Mountain. The only known naturally-occurring remnant San Francisco population occurs below the south slope of Bernal Park, and plants have been reintroduced onto the hilltop. Although not ideal for full southern exposure, it thrives in full sun to part shade. Occasional summer water extends blooming.

Sambucus mexicana (blue elderberry) is a large shrub often grows to tree-like heights, reaching 20 feet or more. A favorite among birders, blue elderberry attracts a wide range of birds who dine on the plant’s ash-blue fruit, and many insect species that appreciate its pithy stems and umbelled inflorescences. Very drought tolerant after first two years, it responds well to pruning and is easy to propagate by cuttings. Blue elderberry is relatively uncommon in San Francisco but can be found in Glen Canyon, North Beach, and the Presidio. One particularly large specimen on the north side of Bernal Park has official San Francisco Landmark Tree status. Those with more fog and moisture in their gardens may want to try the shade-tolerant red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa).

We will have combination six packs, containing Erigeron glaucus (seaside daisy), Eriogonum latifolium (coast buckwheat), and Lotus scoparius (deerweed) — all food plants of the Green Hairstreak.

We will also have two trays of beautiful Sedum spathulifolium in four-inch pots. This is the host plant of the endangered San Bruno Elfin Blue.

We offer good easy-to-grow shrubs, such as twinberry and blue elderberry (above). Berries from all our shrubs are eagerly consumed by birds.

Oemleria cerasformis (oso berry) is a four-foot-tall deciduous shrub. If grown dry, it will lose its leaves in late summer. Leaves are good-looking and distinctive. White flowers are in drooping panicles and come out in dead of winter, sometimes on bare branches, or with newly-emerging bright green leaves. Berries are small, blue-black plums with a glaucous bloom.

Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum (pink currant) is deciduous and its pendent tassels of pink flowers open in the dead of winter on bare branches, a striking sight. Blue berries are covered with a glaucous bloom. Pink currant is tolerant of whatever water regime you provide, and is happy in sun or shade, although a modicum of sun is needed for maximum bloom.

Rhamnus californica (coffeeberry) is slow growing, but is an exceptionally handsome shrub with a subtle appeal. Its tiny, unshowy flowers are reputed to be fragrant at night, and the half-inch- diameter, red-turning-black berries are a definite asset.

Prunella vulgaris (self-heal) is a gorgeous low-growing perennial with bright purple flowers one to two inches long. Tolerant of occasional mowing, this non-aromatic member of the mint family is ideal for your lawn or lawn edge. Self-heal typically grows in wet meadows, seeps, and riparian areas in full sun to part shade. It grows in a seep above O’Shaughnessy Boulevard and along Colma Creek on San Bruno Mountain. As its common name implies, self-heal is used in herbal and western medicine for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Festuca californica (California fescue) is a large bunchgrass with robust, blue-green clumps two feet tall and inflorescences reaching up to five feet high. It typically grows on the edge of Douglas fir groves and oak woodlands. Locally, it grows on the north sides of San Bruno Mountain and Mt. Davidson. It prefers dry, partly shady, loamy soils, making it ideal for many San Francisco gardens. Many gardeners love the rolling texture of a California fescue prairie, while others plant California fescue individually to better appreciate the bunchgrass’s elegant form.

Galvezia speciosa (island snapdragon) is only native to San Clemente and Santa Catalina islands but it is very adaptable to our local climate and soils. It is a loosely-structured shrub, reaching four feet tall and five feet wide. Its scarlet blossoms are a favorite nectar source for hummingbirds. It blooms prolifically from late winter, through the summer, in sun to part shade. Regular tip-pinching will help to keep it more compact and full. An annual pruning will eliminate woody stems. Galvezia may be planted where it can spill over a bank or low wall, or grown in a container. It is drought-tolerant, but an occasional watering in the summer will prolong flowering.

Asarum caudatum (wild ginger) is an emerald green ground cover that grows in deep shade, and in moist, deep soil. Beneath its heart-shaped leaves are maroon, cup-shaped flowers, with tapering sepals that resemble tails. When pollinated by fungus gnats, they produce viable seeds, which result in tiny volunteer plants. The seeds are dispersed by native ants. Wild ginger spreads at a moderate pace by underground stems. The leaves and rhizomes emit a gingery scent, and were used medicinally by the Pomo and other California tribes. Although Asarum is not native to the San Francisco Yerba Buena Chapter area, it can be found thriving in the Redwood Grove at San Francisco Botanical Garden. Muir Woods in Marin County is the closest place to see it growing in its natural habitat and range. Wild ginger needs occasional to regular water.

Lonicera involucrata (twinberry) This shrub grows in the ravine on the south side of Brotherhood Way, east of Lake Merced Boulevard. Its roots and lower stalks are shaded by dogwoods and arroyo willows, but its upper branches grow eight to ten feet to reach the sunlight. The yellow and red-orange tubular flowers are visited by hummingbirds for their nectar. After they are pollinated, their ovaries develop into shiny, dark pairs of berries with crimson bracts. Twinberry is a handsome foundation plant, beside a building or fence, beside a pond, or at the back of a border. Tip pruning will result in fuller, more compact growth. Twinberry can also be treated as a vine, by weaving its stalks into a vertical trellis. Watering every three weeks during the summer will keep it looking lush and green.

At the plant sale, we will have scientifically-designed bird-nesting boxes and bee-boards for our native solitary bees, both made by Roland Pitschel. (Did you know that most bee species are solitary nesters? The social honey bee is one of the few exceptions in the bee world.) It may surprise you that there are still native bees in San Francisco, but there are, and they very frequently show up when they have a food source and nesting space.

We also have a single bat-nesting box. There are also still bats in the city; they are more common on the east side of the city, where there are more flying insects, than on the western side. You must have the proper place to put a bat box, as they can’t go just anywhere. For information: How to Put Up a Bat House.