Native Plant Garden in Los Paseos Park

LPNA started a demonstration garden for California native plants in 2021, testing initial plants in April, followed by a mass planting in November with neighborhood volunteers. We also installed drip irrigation, using a water connection provided by the Parks Department.

Plants were selected to be drought resistant, tolerate local clay soil, and support pollinators (see detailed and summary lists of plants below). Since planting, we have seen many birds, bees and butterflies in the garden, and also beneficial insects such as praying mantis and ladybugs, as well as small lizards. If you plant it, they will come!

Native plants initially grow slowly, but after 3 years the garden has filled in and is thriving. LPNA volunteers maintain the garden with weeding, mulching, pruning, supplemental watering, and additional and replacement plants.

The original plants, fencing, and drip materials were funded by a grant from San Jose’s BeautifySJ program. LPNA has also adopted Los Paseos Park through San Jose’s Adopt-a-Park program.

If you would like to help with the ongoing work in the garden, or get additional information, you can contact Barbara at gardener@lospaseosneighbors.com.

Resources for Native Plants: Helpful Websites: https://calscape.org – Search for plants by common or Latin names. Gives detailed information for each species & variety. Most of the details in the spreadsheet attached below is from this site https://calflora.org – Search for plants native to a specific area in California, and filter by various criteria. Other Practical Information: Locally Native Plants for Bay Area Gardens (California Native Plant Society presentation) https://cnps-scv.org/images/stories/presentations/LocallyNativePlantsForBayAreaGardens-CNPS-SCV-Zoom-2022-09-07-compressed.pdf Planting tips for California natives https://www.cnps.org/gardening/prepping-and-planting/planting-california-natives Local Nursery Sources: Capitol Wholesale Nursery, provided many of LPNA’s plants, located at 2938 Everdale Drive, San Jose (near Capitol and Aborn). Browse at their property or email them to request specific plants for pickup at the nursery. https://capitolwholesalenursery.net Linda Vista Native Plants, some of our plants were purchased here online and picked up. Large selection of plants. Their website indicates what is available at the moment.
https://www.lindavistanatives.com Almaden Valley Nursery, at 15800 Almaden Blvd. also has a section for California natives.
https://almadenvalleynursery.com Detailed LPNA garden plant list PDF – includes sun, water, and soil requirements for each plant Current Plants in Los Paseos Park Native Garden Small Trees and Shrubs Perennials Groundcover Grasses Annuals (seeded) *  Certain photos are from the Calscape website (permitted with attribution) when the subject is too recently planted for our own photos to be useful. All other photos were taken by Barbara Canup for LPNA.