Credit - Heather Ross/Earthjustice
For dry side residents: Not only do succulents and native plants protect your home from wildfire, they can also dramatically reduce your water bill and will draw in pollinators. Here's a great article about the many benefits of succulent/native gardening.
“There used to be a lawn here,” Ramirez says, “but I wanted more texture, form and variation.” After using stacked layers of cardboard, compost and mulch—called sheet mulching—to kill the parched grass, Ramirez transplanted his diverse collection of potted succulents into a mix of soil, pumice and lava rock. He says he now waters as little as twice a month in sunnier times and never in the winter...
Putting succulents and native plants around your home not only saves precious water, but it also creates more habitat for bees and other pollinators, including 1,600 California native bee species. The University of California, Berkeley Urban Bee Lab offers a helpful guide to native and exotic plants that bees love…
'To avoid pesticides, choose the right plants,' Brenzel advises. Pests don’t bother drought-tolerant plants as often, and Brenzel says if you make your garden inviting to predators like birds they’ll do the bug-catching for you. She and Elana Chavez, a landscaper in Redwood City, recommend fragrant plants like lavender, yarrow, salvias, and California lilac to entice pollinators like hummingbirds and bees (not to mention human visitors)."