Stiff, aromatic, silvery-white perennial that grows 1 1/2-3 ft. tall

Can spread quickly to form large colonies

Shrub-like, white, and densely matted with hairs from rhizome

Small yellowish flowers, that blooms from August to September

Prefers full sun and well drained soils

Very heat and drought tolerant

Provides nesting habitat for bees

Offers various medicinal uses

Sick of those bare spots under your shade trees? Tired of a thin, sparse-looking lawn on the north side of your house? Does your lawn experience just as much shade as it does sun? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, our TWCA Water-Wise Shade Mix is ideal for your shade-related lawn seed problems. Our most versatile and adaptable grass seed mix, this mix has a rich dark green color and a soft comfortable feel that holds up well under traffic. Perfect for use around houses, parks, and sports fields that experience full sun to heavy shade. This mix is very similar in quality to our Blue Ribbon Mix but tolerates heavy shade better with the addition of fescue and perennial ryegrass.

25% California Brome, Bromus carinatus
20% Blue Wildrye, Elymus glaucus
20% California Barley, Hordeum californicum
12.5% Idaho Fescue, Festuca idahoensis
12.5% Purple Needlegrass, Stipa pulchra
10% One Sided Bluegrass, Poa secunda

The California Habitat Mix is a meticulously crafted blend of native grasses designed to bring the essence of the Californian landscape right to your doorstep. Perfect for sustainable landscaping, restoration projects, and creating a vibrant habitat for local wildlife, this mix embodies the beauty and resilience of California’s diverse ecosystems. We have formulated the perfect mix of grasses that will thrive in these conditions using little irrigation.

Our Coastal Sage Scrub mix is custom designed and native to California (see distribution map). This mix includes grasses, flowers, and shrubs for revegetation of soil and slopes with plant types that belong to California. There is a quick start grass to protect soil and allow slower perennials permanent cover in the years to come. Designed as a non-irrigated mix, irrigation will foster establishment and prolong the blooming period. This mix has been designed with an emphasis on native wildflowers and with special attention to balanced percentages of annuals and perennials. It is appropriate for scrub restoration throughout California.

The colors in bloom will vary at different times of the year, and depending on how much water and sunlight are available to the wildflowers. The colors which you will see at different times of the year will include: blues, purples, pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges.

The actual composition of wildflowers will vary from season to season and from year to year, but generally you will receive the following wildflowers in each order of this mix:
Acmispon glaber: Deerweed
Acmispon americanus: Purshing lotus
Artemisia californica: California sagebrush
Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia: Beach evening primrose
Collinsia heterophylla: Chinese houses
Encelia californica: Bush sunflower
Eriogonum fasciculatum: California buckwheat
Eriophyllum confertiflorum: Golden yarrow
Eschscholzia californica: California poppy
Festuca microstachys: Small fescue
Isocoma menziesii: Coast goldenbush
Lasthenia californica: Dwarf goldfields
Lupinus succulentus: Arroyo lupine
Mimulus aurantiacus puniceus: Mission red monkeyflower
Salvia apiana: White sage
Salvia mellifera: Black sage
Sisyrinchium bellum: Blue-eyed grass
Stipa pulchra: Purple needlegrass

This mix will make a great addition to any area of your landscape that you want to enhance the color with species that are not commonly found in typical store-bought seed mixes. Many of the seeds in this mix have been hand-harvested from the wild and, until now, have only been available to professional and commercial buyers. Now you can have a beautiful, unique mix of wildflowers that will offer a sense of natural wildflower beauty and locally adapted native plant authenticity in your landscape.

This scrub mix contains no fillers. We pride ourselves on our professional-grade seeds.

62% California Brome
25% Small Fescue 13% Foothill Clover

Our California Native Erosion Control Mix is a mixture of annual native California species that have been formulated for rapid growth in the lower rainfall climates and varied soil types of Central and Southern California. For this reason, it is the best choice for permanent or temporary cover in areas that may not support perennial natives without the addition of irrigation or soil amendments. These seeds are adapted to our climates and plant communities and can be used around sensitive native habitats and in conjunction with other species, including wildflowers, without fear of native gene contamination.

This mix contains grasses that establish very quickly for the fastest results possible while at the same time knitting together the soil to prevent future erosion. It can also be used for livestock and wildlife forage, including a mix of annual grasses and legumes designed to germinate quickly and provide vegetative cover for disturbed areas. This mix is formulated for non-irrigated sites; though, irrigation will prolong the growth period.

Produced by S&S Seeds

Scientific Name: Larrea tridentata

Larrea tridentata, commonly known as creosote bush, is native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts of western North America. It is well-adapted to desert environments and is often found in regions with low rainfall and high temperatures. The creosote bush has several unique adaptations that help it survive in harsh desert conditions. One of its notable characteristics is the resinous coating on its leaves and stems, which gives off a distinctive creosote-like aroma. This resinous coating helps the plant retain water, also acting as a natural defense against herbivores and some plant pathogens.

Larrea tridentata has been used by various indigenous communities for medicinal and cultural purposes for centuries. It has traditional uses in herbal medicine for treating various ailments, such as digestive issues, respiratory problems, and skin conditions. However, it’s essential to note that the medicinal use of plants should be approached with caution, as some compounds in plants can have adverse effects or interact with medications.

Additionally, the creosote bush plays a significant role in the ecosystem, providing shelter and food for various desert animals, including insects, reptiles, and small mammals. Overall, Larrea tridentata is a fascinating and ecologically important plant that thrives in some of the harshest environments on Earth.

Host plant: white-lined sphinx and creosote moth

Produced by S&S Seeds

Scientific name: Atriplex lentiformis

Quailbush, also known as big saltbush, is a perennial deciduous evergreen shrub native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Here, it grows in saline or alkaline soils, such as salt flats, dry lake beds, coastlines, and desert scrub. Additionally, it can also be found in non-saline soils along riverbanks and in woodlands. Quailbush is often used to revegetate riparian habitat or to stabilize banks in its native range; and is used in butterfly and bird gardens. Its ability to remain tolerant of drought and difficult sites that experience high winds, salt spray, saline, and alkaline soils makes it incredibly adaptive. Native birds and mammals in particular love the beautiful silvery gray foliage, as it provides food and cover. It’s excellent for erosion control and is fire resistant. Despite its name, it is a highly palatable forage for most livestock and big game.

Host plant: western pygmy blue, MacNeill’s sootywing, common sootywing, Mohave scootywing

Scientific Name: Atriplex polycarpa

Cattle spinach, also known as cattle saltbush and desert saltbush, is a shrub native to the southwestern United States, including southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and northern Mexico. It tolerates alkaline and saline soils, drought, and temperatures as low as 15F. Wildlife, such as quail, dove, mule deer, and rabbits enjoy cattle spinach; as well as livestock: cattle, sheep, and goats. Cattle spinach is primarily used for erosion control for mismanagement of rangelands and abandoned cropland. It’s found in alkaline plains and occasionally in rocky or gravelly slopes in desert or grassland, in communities with creosote bush and sagebrush. In California, it’s scattered along the San Joaquin Valley, and the Mojave and Colorado Deserts.

Host Plant: common scootywing, western pygmy blue, Mohave sootywing, San Emigdio blue, and the white-lined sphinx

Produced by S&S Seeds

Scientific Name: Artemisia californica

California sagebrush, also known as coastal sagebrush, is a highly aromatic native shrub that grows in coastal, chaparral, and dry foothill communities in California and Baja California. It is extremely drought tolerant and is often found as the only plant growing in the driest, south-facing slopes up to 3,300 feet. California sagebrush requires minimal summer water and care. It can handle dry slopes, sandy soil, and clay soil.

California sagebrush has adapted to California’s summer drought by having two growth forms. In the winter and spring, when seasonal water is available, the gray-green leaves are long, tender, and feathery. They grow rapidly and are lush. During the hot dry summer months, spring leaves wilt and are replaced by small, hardy leaves. Growth halts or slows down; transpiration is reduced and the plant may look as though it has gone dormant.