Last of all, and farthest from the central vegetable garden we place
the most drought tolerant plant types, that tolerate water, soil
disturbance, and amendments the least. These would be various species
of Arctostaphylos (example:
Arctostaphylos
glandulosa ), small oaks (
Quercus
berberidifolia), Ceanothus (example:
Ceanothus
rigidus), chamise (
Adenostoma
fasciculatum)
For an example, from the center of the total garden area, moving outward:
Vegetable and fruit gardens in the center ->Sun and Water tolerant California natives->Transition California natives->Sun and drought tolerant circumventor California natives ->Drought tolerant, stress tolerant California natives.
For fruit orchards, and berry patches, and grape vineyards, the same
seems to hold true, presently. We have placed the California native
plants again starting on the outside edges of the paths surrounding
these agricultural systems, but not within the orchards or vineyards,
or berry patches, as this allows easier management of the agricultural systems, and, most importantly, all the different types of plants in this cultivated plant/California native plant combination, are healthier.
For chickens, this design allows you to take the chickens out of their normal run, and move a small chicken "tractor" through the garden, fruit trees, berry and grape patches, including the dirt paths, where the chickens can scratch, eat bug & slug pests, add manure, and eat weeds, but keeps them separate from the various sections of California native plants.