Growing Native. - periodical reviews

Whole Earth Review, Summer, 1991 by Kathleen O'Neill

If you've decided to explore the cultivation of native plants, it's nice to have an enthusiastic hand-holder. For Californians, that hand to hold could be Growing Native, a nicely-put-together newsletter that will help you to learn about these interesting plants, how to find them, and some basic propagation techniques. It's also a good place to begin a dialogue with other enthusiasts. One of the nice things about a newsletter is its recurrence: where a book may be neglected on the shelf, a newsletter will revive interest each time it arrives.

When Gerda Isenberg moved onto part of what had been an old cattle ranch in a canyon west of the crest behind Palo Alto, no one, least of all she, had any idea what would come of it. She had no vast plan, just an interest in ferns, which grew into a desire to grow some of the plants she saw in the environment around her.

Today, more than thirty years later, the 7-acre Yerba Buena is the oldest native plant nursery in northern California with an enormous selection of plants (more than 500 in the upcoming catalog) and a huge, mature demonstration garden with identifying signs.

To give you an idea of what's available: You can choose from 40 different monkey-flowers (Diplacus and Mimulus) (many still blooming now), more than 70 varieties of manzanita (Arctostaphylos), almost 60 kinds of Ceanothus, nearly 20 native ferns (and even more exotic ferns -- she still loves them) and hundreds of shrubs and perennials. Yerba Buena also carries Larner Seeds.

You will also find a big assortment of trees -- madrones, a good selection of oaks, poplar and cottonwood, the Catalina Ironwood, buckeye and lots of conifers.