There’s a secret to the low-maintenance garden: native plants. California natives are drought-tolerant, thrive in local soil without amendments and provide forage and habitat for pollinators. Autumn, with its cooler nights and the promise of rainfall, is the ideal time to start a native garden. When planted during fall, plants have time to develop healthy root systems over winter that will sustain them through the dry season with less irrigation – and less maintenance. Looking to get started? A trio of recently published guides can help you cultivate your own native environment.

“Growing California Native Plants,” the second edition (University of California Press, 2012). Gardener and designer Katherine L. Greenberg retooled this 30-year-old book by the late Marjorie G. Smith into an easy-to-use guide for novices and experienced gardeners. Through colorful photos, maps, lists and charts, the authors make a case for the 6,300 species and subspecies – trees, grasses, perennials and annuals – that thrive west of the Sierra. Plants include drought-tolerant varieties as well as moisture dwellers from meadows, streams and woodlands that can thrive in home gardens with similar conditions.

The book includes a handy section that groups plants according to their special features (dry garden, deer resistant, fall color, and so on), as well as a glossary of plant terms and lists of resources.

Smith and Greenberg assure novices that there is a native plant for any garden situation. Once established, most get all the nutrients they need from the soil and thrive, thankfully, with little attention.

“California Native Gardening” (University of California Press, 2012). Helen Popper’s month-by-month guide lists the chores specific to the calendar up front and fleshes them out in the pages that follow, many of them accompanied by plentiful, colorful images. Particularly useful is a rough guide for when cuttings of specific plants can be taken for propagation.

The guide came out of the Santa Clara Valley chapter’s monthly meetings of the California Native Plant Society where Popper – a member and an associate professor of economics at Santa Clara University – took voluminous notes that ended up in her book.

“Wildflowers of California” (University of California Press, 2012). Let nature inspire your native garden’s design. Author and photographer Laird R. Blackwell’s month-by-month guide reveals when and where to view spectacular wildflower displays and fascinating flowers.

Blackwell divides the Golden State into 10 geographical regions and identifies 67 flower “hot spots.” He also highlights more than 600 wildflower species “whose beauty or fascination would lead me to go out of my way to see them.”

In his introduction, Blackwell offers tips on using his guide: “Since most flowers bloom for at least several weeks, if you’re looking for flowers to see in a particular month, be sure to check the earlier month sections as well.”

A Sierra Nevada College professor who regularly leads wildflower walks and classes, Blackwell has penned half dozen other regional field guides on the subject of wildflowers.

Laramie Treviño is a Monterey County freelancer and master gardener with the University of California Cooperative Extension. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com

There’s a secret to the low-maintenance garden: native plants. California natives are drought-tolerant, thrive in local soil without amendments and provide forage and habitat for pollinators. Autumn, with its cooler nights and the promise of rainfall, is the ideal time to start a native garden. When planted during fall, plants have time to develop healthy root systems over winter that will sustain them through the dry season with less irrigation – and less maintenance. Looking to get started? A trio of recently published guides can help you cultivate your own native environment.

“Growing California Native Plants,” the second edition (University of California Press, 2012). Gardener and designer Katherine L. Greenberg retooled this 30-year-old book by the late Marjorie G. Smith into an easy-to-use guide for novices and experienced gardeners. Through colorful photos, maps, lists and charts, the authors make a case for the 6,300 species and subspecies – trees, grasses, perennials and annuals – that thrive west of the Sierra. Plants include drought-tolerant varieties as well as moisture dwellers from meadows, streams and woodlands that can thrive in home gardens with similar conditions.

The book includes a handy section that groups plants according to their special features (dry garden, deer resistant, fall color, and so on), as well as a glossary of plant terms and lists of resources.

Smith and Greenberg assure novices that there is a native plant for any garden situation. Once established, most get all the nutrients they need from the soil and thrive, thankfully, with little attention.

“California Native Gardening” (University of California Press, 2012). Helen Popper’s month-by-month guide lists the chores specific to the calendar up front and fleshes them out in the pages that follow, many of them accompanied by plentiful, colorful images. Particularly useful is a rough guide for when cuttings of specific plants can be taken for propagation.

The guide came out of the Santa Clara Valley chapter’s monthly meetings of the California Native Plant Society where Popper – a member and an associate professor of economics at Santa Clara University – took voluminous notes that ended up in her book.

“Wildflowers of California” (University of California Press, 2012). Let nature inspire your native garden’s design. Author and photographer Laird R. Blackwell’s month-by-month guide reveals when and where to view spectacular wildflower displays and fascinating flowers.

Blackwell divides the Golden State into 10 geographical regions and identifies 67 flower “hot spots.” He also highlights more than 600 wildflower species “whose beauty or fascination would lead me to go out of my way to see them.”

In his introduction, Blackwell offers tips on using his guide: “Since most flowers bloom for at least several weeks, if you’re looking for flowers to see in a particular month, be sure to check the earlier month sections as well.”

A Sierra Nevada College professor who regularly leads wildflower walks and classes, Blackwell has penned half dozen other regional field guides on the subject of wildflowers.

Laramie Treviño is a Monterey County freelancer and master gardener with the University of California Cooperative Extension. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com