What's so important about what I plant in my own yard?

 What you plant in your own yard is important.  It's important for many reasons...  

First, there are plants that are readily available at the nursery or home center that easily re-seed into our wild open spaces.  Plants such as Pampas Grass, Cotoneaster, Broom, Acacia, Eucalyptus, Euphorbia and others become problems the OSMA must deal with every year because such plants can overtake the desirable native plants we find in our open space, and most are quite fire hazardous.

There are also plants that can hybridize with our local endangered native species, eventually causing the extinction of those rare species.  For this reason, most Ceanothus and Manzanita species are banned from Fountaingrove II.  

Finally, you may find, as one woman did in her question to the San Francisco Chronicle, that birds and other animals seem to love the berries on the non-native species she plants in her garden, so why not help them out with those non-native invasive plant species?  Well, the birds may love them, but the berries may not meet their nutritional requirements.  See this link for the complete question and answer.

If you have any questions as to the plants that are encouraged and those that are banned in Fountaingrove II, please take a look at our plant lists. Every homeowner was given this information upon purchasing his or her home.  Plant Lists