"Roughly speaking, how much of the flora is unable to grow on the West Coast?" Seems like it's usually more like what won't grow here? (Often with bad consequences, in the case of invasives.) For instance, my mother is endlessly frustrated by my interest in native plants (she is in New Mexico), as she says "You can grow ANYTHING there and you plant plain old Apricot Mallow???!" lol. Of course, I still have a lemon tree, orange tree, palm tree, tea tree, orchid tree, hibiscus, hydrangea, avocado etc....Full disclosure: I am a newbie and just got some actual dirt a year ago - but it has been amazing to learn about this amazing climate - which is Mediterranean btw. Often I wish there was a California version of every forum here - particularly veggies, since our planting times are totally different. Some books I like: Mediterranean Kitchen Garden: Growing Organic Fruit and Vegetables in a Hot, Dry Climate by Mariano Bueno, Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening, and California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein et al. The Sunset Bible is also on my shelf. The micro-climate is crucial - I am in East LA and have a totally different zone than you will in Santa Monica. One thing that I'll add to look into for native plants is the Theodore Payne Foundation which is local - it's really a neat non-profit nursery and educational resource.

Well, hello cactusjordi! I have owned 4 different C. peculiaris now. One that I planted out in a succulent bowl (that I got from a wonderful San Diego chap), the one in the picture here, and two others. Of the 4, my first one (the one bought in San Diego) did not like the hot humid and wet summer. RIP :-( So bummed. It struggled at first then was getting stronger then this. Does not like water and heat when it is dormant. The one that I purchased shown in the original post here....I have no clue...must have croaked too. Brain is really going. But it did bloom and give me seed. The last two that I got over a year and a half ago made it through this past crazy summer. These were more protected so I guess that helped. I ran out as the sun had already set tonight and took a few shots. So there you have it. Some successes and some failures. I know now where to keep them best in my garden. I have no greenhouse or protected area. Mother nature dictates. Yours look great cactusjordy! ewwmayo - I'm pretty sure that cactusjordy is completely reliant on Mother nature. They are outside under the cover of other plants. Water....when it falls from the sky...that's it.

Thank you for the lovely tour! It is nice to see some old favorites with different partners growing beside them. I was curious about the plant you called angelica; I purchased one long ago that looked identical from Bluestone, but it had the name Thalictrum (meadow rue). Angelica seemed different when I did an image search. [Reeeeeally different searching for angelica--lol. Then I added perennial to the search line to find images of plants.] The red-calyxed abutilons are my favorites, and your photo reminds me I still need to pick up one for the garden. Nice butterfly photos, too. Glad you shared your visit in this forum also, because I am still have not made it to all of them here in GW.

Padma: I had a Valencia orange tree at my last house that had oranges on it most of the year. We juiced a good bit of them and they tasted pretty good. I have a mature navel orange at my current place that has been putting out big navel oranges for the last 3-4 months. If those are your favorite varieties then go with them as most stuff will grow here in San Diego. If you haven't tried them hit up a local farmers market like the one in Hillcrest on Sundays and try some locally grown ones.