Plant List

Lotusland’s Favorite Insectary Plants for the Santa Barbara Region

A thoughtful selection of plants will attract beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife to your garden, by providing food, shelter, and nesting sites. Insectary habitat encourages a diverse abundance of insects which help to balance pest populations while also supporting creatures higher up the food chain. The following are a selection of Lotusland’s favorite insectary plants – appropriate for the Santa Barbara region and most of coastal southern California. Select a mixture of annuals, perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees with bloom times staggered throughout the year in order to provide pollen and nectar year-round. Rather than selecting a single specimen of a plant variety, group multiples of the same plant in order to provide adequate foraging ground for wildlife. Native plants provide ideal habitat for native wildlife, so be certain to include them, but don’t forget that many non-native plants can also provide great habitat.

Native Annuals

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range: California and Oregon

Lacy Phacelia
(Phacelia tanacetifolia)

Bloom Time: Spring
Native Range: California

Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii)

Bloom Time: Spring
Native Range: California and southern Oregon

Non-Native Annuals

Borage (Borago officinalis)

Bloom Time: Summer
Native Range: Mediterranean

Cilantro

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range:

Poppy

Bloom Time:
Native Range:

Honeywort
(Cerinthe major ssp. purpurascens)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer, Fall
Native Range: Mediterranean basin

Scarlet Flax
(Linum grandiflorum)

Bloom Time: Summer
Native Range: North Afric

Native Herbaceous Perennials

White Sage
(Salvia apiana)

Bloom Time: Winter, Spring, Summer
Native Range: Coastal ranges of central and southern California

Bush Sunflower
(Encelia californica)

Bloom Time: Winter, Spring
Native Range: Southern California

Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range: North America, Europe, and western Asia

Black Sage
(Salvia mellifera)

Bloom Time: Winter, Spring, Summer
Native Range: Coastal California and Baja California

Monkey Flower (Diplacus spp. and cultivars)

Bloom Time: Spring
Native Range: California

Non-Native Herbaceous Perennials

Tower of Jewels (Echium wildpretii)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range: Canary Islands

Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha)

Bloom Time: Fall, Winter
Native Range: Southeast Brazil

Cigar plant
(Cuphea ignea)

Bloom Time:
Native Range: Mexico and Jamaica

Common Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens ‘Album’)

Bloom Time: Summer, Fall
Native Range: Peru

Aquilegia

Bloom Time:
Native Range:

Catmint
(Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range:

Lavender

Bloom Time:
Native Range:

Ageratum corymbosum

Bloom Time:
Native Range:

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata ‘Arizona Sun’)

Bloom Time: Fall, Winter
Native Range: Southeast Brazil

Bidens cv. Madame Ganna Walska

Bloom Time: Summer
Native Range: Southern United States, Mexico, and Guatemala

Native Trees and Shrubs

Catalina Cherry
(Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii)

Bloom Time: Winter, Spring
Native Range: Channel Islands and coastal southern California

Mountain Lilac (Ceanothus spp)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range: Western North America

Ribes sanguineum

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range: California

Non-Native Trees and Shrubs

African Mallow (Anisodontea ‘Strybing Beauty’)

Bloom Time: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Native Range: South Africa

Grasses

California Fescue (Festuca californica)

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Native Range: Coast Ranges of California and Oregon