There are so many plants to choose from! When making tough choices, consider how the plants will be working for you. Will they provide much needed shade during our hot summers? Create attractive habitat for pollinators and birds? Deliver year-round tasty treats? Help you create a fire-resilient landscape? As you are planning, be sure to select the right plants for the right place that will be the right size at maturity and serve the right function.
Trees
According to the
U.S. Forest Service, over 141 million acres of America’s forests are located in our cities and towns. Urban forests benefit our health and quality of life both locally and globally. Help to improve the tree canopy in the Roseville community. The Roseville Urban Forest Foundation (
RUFF) has many resources to help you select, plant, and care for the right trees for your landscape.
Before buying your trees, check out Roseville Electric’s
Shade Tree Program. Trees have many benefits and can help you save energy and money by shading your home and air conditioner during our hot summer months, reducing your cooling costs by as much as 40 percent!
Inland Valley Garden Planner
The
Inland Valley Garden Planner is designed to help you have beautiful, have-it-all gardens. Even though its focus is for the Inland Valley of California, many of the plants are well suited to our area’s conditions. It also provides irrigation and maintenance information for each plant!
California Native Plants
The plants you select can be beautiful and pull double duty by supporting and sustaining bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators, as well as beneficial insects and other wildlife. These incredible creatures play important roles in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and they are vital to our food supply. Learn about these numerous and wonderous California Native Plant Society (CNPS) resources:
Calscape;
Homegrown Habitat;
Calscape Garden Planner.
Protecting Wildlife
To support garden life, our California gardens should be free of poisonous chemicals and pesticides. For more information, refer to:
The Xerces Society;
Pollinator Partnership;
National Audubon Society;
UC Davis Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven; and
UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
Edible Gardens
Here’s a tip – Grow the food that you and your family like! Growing your own food -- fruit, vegetables, edible flowers, herbs, etc. -- is rewarding and beneficial in numerous ways. To get started, visit UC Cooperative Extension
Environmental Horticulture Notes Vegetable Gardening 101.
Fire-resilient Landscaping
A fire-resilient landscape uses fire-wise landscape design and properly maintained fire-resistant plants. Learn about these strategies at
CalFire. For specific, local guidelines, refer to your county or local fire-safety jurisdictions, agencies, and organizations.
Learn how to reduce your home and property’s vulnerability to wildfire by reading UC Cooperative Extension’s
Preparing Home Landscaping.
Invasive Plants DO NOT Work for You
Invasive plants are not native to the local ecosystem and can harm California's environment and economy. Due to a lack of natural predators, they can quickly s overtake crops or rangeland; harm native wildlife by eliminating the plants that provide food and shelter; clog waterways used for commerce or recreation; and increase fire hazards and flood risk.
To learn more about what can you do to prevent the introduction and use of invasive plants, visit:
California Invasive Plant Council and
PlantRight.