Their advice for going native

Here are the Ethingtons’ tips for anyone who wants a California-friendly garden:

Get some help. Unless you have infinite energy and time, hire out the harder jobs. The Ethingtons are big DIY folk, but even they had to throw in the towel when it came to removing a hillside thicket of 50-year-old juniper and ivy. “We’d probably still be hacking away,” Kris said.

Plan now, plant in the fall. Many natives go dormant during the hottest months, and few perennials do well when planted in the dead of summer, so use this time to browse native plant classes and nurseries, such as the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants in Sun Valley and Kris’ favorite, the Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano.

Keep your soil. Kris had to fight to keep her contractors from removing too much of the native clay soil. Native plants prefer native soil, she said, minus the amendments other plants tend to love.

Be patient. Native plants can look small and drab when they are young, said Kris, so even if you know what it’s supposed to look like, “It’s a leap of faith that it’s going to look good someday.”

Read the tags. If natives find the right spot, they can grow into monsters, so plan accordingly, Kris said. The unassuming quailbush she planted on Thanksgiving 2016 has grown at least 8 feet high and 10 feet wide, creating so much habitat that bunnies have moved in and started nibbling on her young plants.