Santa Barbara Milk Vetch

This is a rarer plant to find on the Tour— Milk Vetch’s aren’t planted frequently in the trade, but I find them delightful. Santa Barbara Milk Vetch, like the Coastal Plantain, are both confirmed as existing in my neighborhood from herbarium records before we just completely paved over paradise. I saw this plant at the Madrona Marsh in a section that was just a little higher than the rest of the marsh, so it must withstand a large amount of seasonal water and slow draining soil for it to survive in a marsh. Once I saw it there I knew it would work in my yard since my site used to be marsh-adjacent. My Milk Vetch is placed on a berm to emulate that-slightly-higher site that I originally saw it at. It’s watered by a sprinkler once or twice a month and it seems to enjoy that. This is a reminder to me that the original ecology could be incredibly beautiful, I just need to adjust myself to it.

Milk Vetch blooms earlier than a lot of the wildflowers and other plants so it’s a good nectar source for bees.

Calscape