The Native Guild
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The Native Guild
@thenativeguild.bsky.social
Helping Santa Barbara County turn boring lawns into buzzing habitats, one native plant at a time.
We teach you how to plant native plants, attract pollinators, and fall in love with your local ecosystem.
Less mowing, more monarchs!
#TheNativeGuild
🌿 California’s pesticide use is declining, and not just slightly — it’s a multi‑year trend

Over the last decade, use of the most harmful pesticide categories has dropped 22% to 81% ☠️

💖 The state is actively transitioning toward safer, more sustainable pest management practices
#LadybugsEatAphids
December 24, 2025 at 6:49 PM
🌿California is choosing to go native

💦Homeowners across the state are “ripping out their thirsty grass lawns and replacing them with beautiful native plants that need far less water,” driven by drought, water costs, and environmental awareness💖
#GrowNativePlants #PolliinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild
December 23, 2025 at 5:03 PM
🍒Christmas Berry

☀️For the Chumash, the winter solstice marks the "Day of the New Sun" - when the "Old Sun" is pulled back from the brink of darkness to ensure the return of longer days

🌿Several native plants, shrubs & trees are involved, including Toyon
#Toyon #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild
December 21, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Matilija Poppy🌼

Fall or Winter is the best time to plant

They are extremely sensitive to root disturbance, so handle the root ball very carefully

But, once settled, they are very aggressive growers, spreading rapidly by underground runners (rhizomes)
#MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants #Pollinators
December 20, 2025 at 10:37 PM
🌼Matilija Poppy - Chumash Origins

The common name, Matilija, is believed to derive from the word “Mat’ilha,” the name of a Chumash village located in what is now Ventura and Santa Barbara County

🌿Came close to becoming California's state flower
#MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden
December 19, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Matilija Poppy - Garden Benefits:

🐝Pollinator Magnet - full of pollen

💦🦌Drought & Dear Resistance

🌿Erosion Control - with aggressive spreading rhizomes

🌼Dramatic Focal Point - 6' to 8' high & wide with spectacular blooms
#MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild #PollinatorGarden
December 18, 2025 at 4:45 PM
🌼Matilija poppies are surprisingly low-maintenance once established, but they can be tricky to start and aggressive in spread

☀️Full sun is best

Requires sandy - well draining soil

💦Water weekly during 1st season - then back waaaaay off

These beauties are very drought tolerant
#MatilijaPoppy
December 17, 2025 at 4:17 PM
🌼Often called the “Fried Egg Poppy” for its gigantic, cheerful blooms, the Matilija poppy is a dramatic, shrub-like perennial native to California and Baja California

It boasts the largest flowers of any native California plant, making it a true showstopper 🌿
#MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants
December 16, 2025 at 4:30 PM
🌿Good morning, Bluesky! I just published a new Substack article about a real beauty 💖

These flowers always make me happy 😍

🌼 The Magnificent Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)
open.substack.com/pub/ginaradu...
#MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild
🌼 The Magnificent Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)
The Giant Poppy That Almost Became California's State Flower
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Project Monarch 💖

This isn’t just a research effort

It’s an URGENT, high-tech intervention to save a species currently proposed for protection under the Endangered Species Act

swmonarchs.org/ProjectMonar...

#ProjectMonarch #HelpSaveMonarchs #MonarchButterfly #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild
December 14, 2025 at 4:47 PM
You can help save Monarch Butterflies💖

1. Download the Project Monarch app to your phone
2. Turn it on
3. While outside - your phone will 'ping' when a monarch with a tracker is near
4. Upload the info

Simple & Important!

Go to: www.swmonarchs.org/ProjectMonarch

#ProjectMonarch #MonarchButterfly
December 13, 2025 at 4:18 PM
The Western Monarch population has been decimated, with one recent overwintering count at Ellwood Main tallying only four individuals

This decline is fueled by habitat loss (milkweed, breeding, and overwintering groves), pesticide use, and climate change
#GrowNativePlants #MonarchButterflies
December 11, 2025 at 7:23 PM
💖Project Monarch in Goleta

For decades, we knew shockingly little about the monarchs’ local movements, despite the species being one of the most recognizable in the world

This new technology is a revelation

Tiny solar-powered tracking tags are transmitting crucial data about their travels
December 11, 2025 at 12:12 AM
🌿The majestic monarch butterfly, a creature whose tiny wings carry it across a continent, is quietly facing extinction

But in California, a groundbreaking project is using tiny technology so precise it feels like science fiction—all to solve the enduring mysteries of this iconic insect’s survival
December 9, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Hello Bluesky! I just published a new article on Substack about the heroic efforts to save the Monarch Butterfly in Goleta - Check it out!!

The $200 Backpack: How Ultra-Tiny Tech is Racing to Save the Monarch Butterfly
open.substack.com/pub/ginaradu...
#MonarchButterfly #Monarchs #GrowNativePlants
The $200 Backpack: How Ultra-Tiny Tech is Racing to Save the Monarch Butterfly
Technology might be the answer to helping this magnificent species
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:07 AM
🌿Native plants and native insects (like moth and butterfly caterpillars) have co-evolved over millennia

🐛Caterpillars are often specialized to eat only specific native plants because they have developed the necessary enzymes to digest that plant's unique defensive compounds
#GrowNativePlants
December 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
🌾December - in your native garden:

Cut back perennial ornamental grasses (like Deer Grass or California Fescue) to refresh them, typically to about 4–6 inches above the ground, if you didn't do so in the fall
#NativeGrasses #GrowNativePlants #Bunchgrasses #TheNativeGuild
December 6, 2025 at 4:25 PM
California Native Bunchgrasses🌾

The health of California's native perennial grasslands is rooted in Chumash tradition with managed, controlled, frequent burning

This practice promoted healthy native bunchgrasses, inhibited invasives, and shows a deep co-evolved ecological relationship
#GrowNatives
December 5, 2025 at 11:01 PM
🌾California Native Bunchgrasses

Santa Barbara’s historical grasslands were dominated by perennial bunchgrasses—plants that grow in dense clumps rather than forming a continuous sod

Adding these into your garden provides natural texture and incredible drought resilience 🌿
#GrowNatives #Bunchgrasses
December 3, 2025 at 5:40 PM
🌾 Native Bunchgrasses: Drought Heroes!

Once established, most native bunchgrasses are highly drought-tolerant 💧

If you prefer to keep them greener, a deep soaking once a month in summer is usually enough
#Bunchgrasses #NativeGrasses #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild
December 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Hello, Bluesky! I just posted a new Substack article about California's Native Grasses🌾

🌿 The Golden State's Unsung Heroes: A Guide to Native Grasses in Santa Barbara County
open.substack.com/pub/ginaradu...
#CaliforniaNativeGrasses #NativeGrasses #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild
🌿 The Golden State's Unsung Heroes: A Guide to Native Grasses in Santa Barbara County
The Foundation of Local Habitat: How Bunchgrasses Bring Birds, Bees, and Butterflies to Your Coastal Garden
open.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:50 PM
🌿California ferns are like the state’s ecological “memory,” holding onto strategies millions of years old while still fitting gracefully into today’s diverse landscapes

They’re quiet survivors that shaped California long before its modern ecosystems existed
#CaliforniaNativeFern #Fern #GrowNatives
November 30, 2025 at 4:21 PM
🌿Ferns

Some species have wild drought survival tricks

Cliff ferns can shrivel almost to nothing, desert-style, to ride out dry spells

Others, like chain ferns, thrive in constant seepage zones, adapting to ever-shifting water flow
#Ferns #GrowNativePlants #NativeFerns #TheNativeGuild
November 29, 2025 at 3:29 PM
🌿Gardening with native ferns on the Central California coast means working with the land, not against it

Give them the right light, soil, and moisture, and they’ll thrive with little more than seasonal tidying
#NativeFern #Ferns #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild
November 28, 2025 at 8:37 PM