California Brickelbush (Brickellia californica) is a native shrub and may be one of the best and sweetest smelling plants. From a great distance, you will be drawn by the irresistible, powerful perfume. The wonderful fragrance lasts for almost two weeks and it’s one of those mysterious plant scents that can be smelled only at a distance. Brickelbush is a common deciduous shrub of dry, rocky slopes and washes in our chaparral and coastal-sage-scrub areas below 8,000 ft. It blooms from August through October. The yellowish-green flowers are pendulous and held in little bunches. When planting it in your garden, place in a spot in full sun or partial shade. Provide water once a week or so the first year and very little thereafter. Photo courtesy of Harold Voorheis

Rabbitbrush is found on many of the local trails during the fall. Photo courtesy of David Stith

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