- California poppy is California's state flower and popular for southern California gardens.Anna Yu/Photodisc/Getty Images
Southern California has coastal, mountain and desert areas. Despite that, many gardens in southern California share the region's Mediterranean climate, with its sunshine, mild weather and light rainfall. Because rainfall averages 10 to 15 inches a year in this Mediterranean climate, southern California gardens need to be irrigated and plants that are drought tolerant have an advantage. - Southern California garden plants need to withstand tough conditions. Resilient perennial varieties that need little maintenance are ideal. Lily of the Nile, Agapanthus africanus, produces clusters of blue flowers in late summer and requires full sun. Santa Barbara daisy, Erigeron karvinskianus, is a ground cover with showy yellow-centered flowers with white petals that fade to pink. Sea lavender, Limonium latifolium, is ideal for California gardens because it does well in full sun with little water. It has small lavender or mauve flowers. Kangaroo paws, bird of paradise and elephant's ear are other resilient perennials that can can be grown in southern California.
- Native plants of southern California are naturally heat tolerant and take dry conditions with ease. The California poppy, Eschscholzia Californica, is California's state flower and has cup-shaped orange, white or yellow flowers, blooming during the first half of the year. It is ideal for slopes and borders. Deer
grass, Muhlenbergia rigens, adds texture to your garden with tall clumps of grass that bloom yellow or purple flower spikes in the fall. Island alum root, Heuchera maxima, is an evergreen that attracts hummingbirds with white and pink flowers that bloom in the spring. It is a good choice for borders and as a ground cover. - Edible gardens provide nutritious vegetables, herbs and fruits as well as flowers. Vegetables and herbs such as Swiss chard, eggplant, red cabbage, various colors of peppers, thyme, parsley and chives are hardy growers in southern California gardens, while also adding color to the landscape. Because southern California rarely experiences frost, you can harvest vegetables up to five times a year. Grow the edible plants in an area that receives about eight hours of direct sunlight a day. Fruit trees are also popular for southern California gardens. Orange and other citrus trees are common, and mango trees grow well in the foothills of southern California.
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