What We're Working on Now
The Town's Conservation Committee recently reviewed and updated the Native Plant List and Planting Concepts, which will be made a part of the Town's Design Guidelines once approved by the Town Council. The links provided are a portion of the native plant list in the Design Guidelines and are for reference only. The complete native plant list, planting concepts and landscaping guidelines are included in the Design Guidelines.
Native Plant List from Town's Design Guidelines
The first page of this list describes trees, shrubs, and ground covers that are indigenous to (living naturally in) Portola Valley. Therefore, not only for their beauty and contribution to the rural aspect of the valley, but also because they are among those most likely to thrive with the least care, they are highly recommended choices for use here.
A supplemental list follows the first and contains plants that, while not indigenous to Portola Valley, are native to other parts of California and will perform well here.
The third page highlights a list of plants that are strongly discouraged for use in Portola Valley as they are non-natives, have been introduced here, and have adapted so well as to crowd out the natives, presenting a real threat to the local plant community.
These lists are intended for use in conjunction with the Town’s approved landscape guidelines (see Design Guidelines document) that provide additional insight and guidance into appropriate plantings for particular locales.
Portola Valley Approved Native Seed Mixes
The following approved seed mixes should be used for erosion control and hydroseeding of areas disturbed by construction. For your convenience, you can download a the seed mix list as a handout.
Where to find these mixes**:
Pacific Coast Seed (800) 733-3462 www.pcseed.com
Hedgerow Farms (530) 662-6847 www.hedgerowfarms.com
**When purchasing your seed mix, please ask the seller to provide you with
the full series of steps required to prepare the ground before planting. If
the seed is applied without prior control to kill all of the weed seeds in the
soil, the native seeds will not be able to compete and grow.
Bay Area Habitat Native Seed Mix
Lbs/acre
10 Bromus carinatus (native California brome)
8 Elymus glaucus (blue wildrye)
8 Hordeum californicum (California barley)
5 Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue)
5 Nassella pulchra (purple needlegrass)
4 Poa secunda (native pine bluegrass)
Blue Oaks Native Seed Mix - for residents of Blue Oaks Subdivision
Bromus carinatus (California brome)
Elymus glaucus (blue wildrye)
Nasella pulchra (purple needlegrass)
Lupinus nanus (sky lupine)
Eschscholzia californica (California poppy)
Castilleja exeria (purple owl’s clover)
Sisyrinchium bellum (blue-eyed grass)
Sidalcea malvaeflora (checkerbloom)
Resources
Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat - Join the thousands of wildlife enthusiasts across the country who have been recognized for creating havens for neighborhood wildlife in their very own yards. These individuals have provided the essential elements for healthy and sustainable wildlife habitats and have earned the distinction of being part of National Wildlife Federation's Certified Wildlife Habitat™ program.
Sustainable Sites Initiative - an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices.