Smart, colorful native plants for spring

Happily, there is an extensive list of spring-bloomers that offer a fabulous array of colors, putting them near the top of water-wise garden additions.

Start with the ever popular California poppies that, beyond the classic orange, offer apricot, red, burgundy and rose colors.

Speaking of which, Asclepias species are host plants for the Monarch butterfly, very drought tolerant and feature bold, star-shaped flowers.

Plant bulbs beneath the soil, then cover them with low-growing annuals or groundcovers and taller plants as an extra layer.

Once established, trees and large shrubs benefit more from deeper but less frequent watering than the more surface watering afforded annuals and perennials.

The deep-watering technique can even be used for your smaller perennials, coaxing them to develop deeper, stronger root systems that can deal with less frequent watering.