GARDENING : SAY `GRACIAS' FOR NATIVE PLANTS.

Byline: Joshua Siskin

Those who tend gardens in dry climates owe an enormous debt of gratitude to whoever discovered ``Gracias,'' which is the name of a new cultivar of purple sage. Imagine a trailing ground cover with dense, stunning clusters of lavender blue flowers. This plant, whose full name is Salvia leucophylla ``Gracias,'' would show up well growing along a sunny sidewalk or patio, or spilling over a low wall or terrace.

From a practical standpoint, ``Gracias'' is a California native that requires virtually no water once established, may be used for stabilization of loose soil on slopes and will naturalize an area through self-sowing. I saw ``Gracias'' growing in Sun Valley at the Theodore Payne Foundation, which has an enormous variety of California natives on display, both planted in the ground and on sale to the public.

We need to say thanks not only for ``Gracias,'' but also for Theodore Payne, an English gentleman who, more than a hundred years ago, came to California and made it his life's mission to bring our state's flora to the attention of the horticultural world. Payne sent California native plant seeds to gardeners around the globe, giving an international reputation to the flannel bush, the California lilac and, of course, the California poppy. Now our lacy-leaved poppy - with flowers of a deep peachy orange that has no equal in the botanical kingdom - is considered a must-have plant for gardeners throughout the world.

In 1960, the nonprofit Theodore Payne Foundation was established to increase the public's awareness of California natives and, ultimately, to encourage wider use of these plants in local landscape and garden designs. Gardeners are an iconoclastic and defiant breed, forever searching for something different and exotic, intent on planting species that come from climates opposite their own. It has mattered little that plenty of California natives were as exotic-looking as any imported plants. For years, it seemed that California natives could be found in gardens everywhere - except in California.

The drought we experienced in the early years of this decade, together with rising water costs, seem to have changed our thinking. California lilac (ceanothus), for instance, has finally become a common offering at local nurseries. Just the other day on Sixth Street, in the Park La Brea area, I noticed a long hedge of recently planted ceanothus. At the Theodore Payne Foundation, there is a large selection of ceanothus, including cultivars such as ``Dark Star'' that flower in midnight blue and are nothing less than breathtaking to behold.

Volunteers are needed for the Theodore Payne nursery. Even if you know nothing about natives at present, you will soon get to know them well by working at the nursery.

Led by chief propagator Dustin Alcala, volunteers have the opportunity of learning how to grow native wildflowers and woody plants from seeds and from cuttings, while making a contribution to the nativization of Los Angeles gardens.

There is a common misconception that California natives are only for dry slopes and full-sun exposures. When you visit the Theodore Payne Foundation, you discover dozens of native species for moderate shade as well. There are the soft-leaved meadow rues (Thalictrum species), stiff-leaved rushes (Juncus species), and a fragrant leaved plant called Catalina perfume (Ribes viburnifolium).

For color in moderately shaded areas, consider red or pink heucheras, yellow monkey flowers (Mimulus guttatus) and a blue native lobelia (Lobelia dunnli serrata).

Poppy Day, which takes place on April 10, is the annual open house of the Theodore Payne Foundation, 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley. The event will be held, at no charge, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Hundreds of species of California natives will be available for purchase. There will also be educational activities and garden tours. Throughout the year, the Theodore Payne Foundation is open free to the public, Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, call [phone].