I just wanted to share something cool. I have been planting one area of my yard about 500 square feet all California native plants for about ten years. I have noticed that I have stopped getting weeds and invasive plants in that area at all. It has been the last three years with less and less weeds till this spring I have had to pull about five all total.

That's great news!

Do you have pictures of that California native area to post? I would love to see what it looks like in the different seasons.

That is great about no more weeds and invasives to worry about.

On our next property I intend to plant all natives (and extremely drought tolerant plants also). I'm really looking forward to it. We've been on this property long enough for some of the natives to re-establish themselves. I'm always thrilled to find more toyon and rhus seedlings popping up here and there...and the oaks. This property was at one time avocado orchard and when we got here they were almost all dead. I'm happy to see it reverting to what it should be. I've helped it along by establishing a large stand of matilija and native salvias. I'd hoped to get some of the native asclepias established, but we'll move on before then and that will be part of the plantings for the next property.

Forgot to mention...I have one weed here, don't know if it's native or introduced, but it's everywhere...spreads by seed and runners...grows to about 1' tall. I suspect it's an artemisia. Do you suppose the lack of weeds in the natives is due to alelopathy...or less water that would normally support the usual weeds? It grows amongst everything...native salvia, matilija. I went out to take a pic and find that there really isn't any right now....it's not in 'full swing'.at the moment. Stiil I'm usually out there pulling it out of the salvias and I'm not finding any there now. So either it's just not started yet or there's hope that it will disappear. I don't know what it's called, but I suspect it's an artemisia.....
This is what it looks like...anyone know what it is? I've never bothered to find out, just curse it namelessly.....
In the pics, it is the small (now), small plant with the lobed leaves.....

I also would like to plant all Native and drought resistant.

Well, I'm having fun learning the natives here...natives in a climate of 60" of annual rain are certainly different from SoCal natives...lol.

The natives make sense...you're planting something that is suited to your area, rather than ...in your case, having to supply all that extra water and, in my case now...having to make sure that whichever plants can take all that extra water and not drown.

After 32 years in SoCal in SoCal on two adjoining properties, first one and then the other, with the worsening water situation and water bills going higher and higher despite me using less and less water.....finally I saw that I was fighting a losing battle and if we'd stayed, I would have gone to all natives. Even though everything I planted was more or less 'drought tolerant', it still wasn't enough, so I was gradually switching over to the natives line of thinking.

In SoCal, I thought I was fairly knowledgable, I get up here and learning the natives is interesting...lol..even in the grass in my own yard here, there are constantly new things popping up that keep me asking, "What is that?"