Landscaping & Gardening by Ellen

November is the beginning of our rainy season and, sure enough, we had a sprinkling on the first day. According to experts (the Orange County Register), we can expect less rain this year due to La Niña conditions, which produce colder ocean temperatures and thus drier air than last year's misty, moisty El Niño.

Many California native plants are best planted in November. Two such plants are among my favorites, plus they're drought-tolerant. The Rockrose has beautiful open-faced pink flowers, and Ceanothus (California Lilac) becomes drenched in stunning true blue flowers in Spring (there's a great one at the corner of Cypress and Kashlan on the west side of the street ­ drive by in late March or early April). Ceanothus comes in dozens of varieties from ground covers to small trees. The downside to these specimens is that too much water can kill them after the first year. Try placing them somewhere that gets no regular water, and then water by hand until established.

Mexican sage is an excellent drought tolerant shrub specimen. It has beautiful purple flower spires most of the year and seems to come back strong after every pruning. It is always lush and healthy looking - check this one out!

Sea lavender (statice) is a good choice for a ground cover. It hardly needs any water and even spreads by reseeding when established. Actually any plant that you see in the median strips or along the roadside are good choices for low-maintenance, low-water sites. These include rhaphiolepsis, pyrocantha, oleander, crape myrtle, escallonia, natal plum, agapanthus, jacaranda, floss silk tree (just finished its spectacular hot pink display), pittosporum, and California Pepper tree.

Foolproof California natives that are drought tolerant and easy to grow include: toyon (with the Christmas berries), elderberry, and laurel sumac. These three grow like weeds - as a matter of fact they are weeds and are probably already in your yard! But they can become nice looking trees with a little careful pruning.

Now is also a good time to plop bulbs in the ground. Ranunculas, anemones, Dutch irises, and daffodils are some good ones to plant now. Daffodils and Dutch irises come back every season, but it seems like Ranunculas and anemones disappear after one year. Last year we had some Ranunculas that completely vanished after starting their leafy growth ­ victims of ravenous gophers, we suspect. This year we'll try putting them in a bed lined with chicken wire (the anti-gopher force-field). That's what's good about daffodils ­ you can plant them anywhere because they are lethal to gophers.

Also this month: scatter packaged Western wildflower seed mixes on bare parts of your yard. And since the experts say we won't be getting much rain this winter, it's probably best to spread those seeds where they will get some regular watering. If the area is sloping and hard-packed, the seeds may slide right off the surface, so rough up the dirt a little first. It's not the end of the world it you don't do this, however. Most likely you'll end up with fewer flowers at the top and more downhill.