Ellen Zagory was Director of Horticulture of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Gardens, fondly referred to as the Arb, when the Arboretum All-Stars plant list came to be created in the early 2000s. Ellen was working in her tiny office space alongside Diane Cary, who at the time was a grant writer working on the idea of developing a list of drought-tolerant landscape plants that could be studied in rigorous UC Davis trials, then recommended to California gardeners, eventually to be sold at future Arb plant sales. Diane suggested “Arboretum All-Stars,” to which Ellen gave a thumbs down, saying it was too sports-like, but the catchy name stuck, and the rest is history.
According to Ellen, “In order to create the list that ended up as our top 100 All-Stars, we developed strict criteria for selecting plants. We wanted plants that first and foremost needed very little water. They had to be attractive, easy for both beginning and advanced gardeners to grow, and have few problems with pests or diseases. We also especially wanted plants that supported native wildlife, such as birds and beneficial insects, and provided a variety of alternatives for year-round interest. We voted on those plants that we all felt best fit the criteria. And the Arboretum All-Stars were born!”
“We then developed an online database and planting plans, as well as signage on All-Star plants in the Arboretum. At the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, we created demonstration gardens so people could easily see what an All-Star garden would look like. Many funders and donors, including our wonderful Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, supported this work over the years through grants, gifts, and time. Some supported the All-Stars Program directly, while others supported our nursery and plant sales program, which promote the All-Stars.” Learn more about caring for the All-Stars or visiting the UC Davis Arboretum website.
Arboretum All-Star Trials Kick Off Statewide Sustainable Landscape Movement
Also serving on the original Arboretum All-Star panel were Karrie Reid, later San Joaquin County Environmental Horticulture Advisor, and Dr. Loren Oki, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist. Oki was also the principal investigator of the Climate-Ready Landscape Plants project, which may be the largest irrigation trial in the western U.S., and the UC Plant Landscape Irrigation Trials, the California component of that project. https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/news/oki-retires
Karrie was working as his staff research associate, and later continued to do plant trials after she graduated. She was able to expand the trials from one field to two fields, then added the shade structure field, and incorporated Master Gardener demonstration gardens throughout the state as part of the trials. She also assisted with outreach material for a big urban runoff study that Loren was doing jointly with a team in Southern California. In addition, she served on the WUCOLS water use committee for this region. (See the article on WUCOLS in this issue of our newsletter.) All of this groundbreaking work was done alongside Missy Gable, current head of the California Master Gardener program, and Ellen Zagory.
Those early trials helped establish the plant list as we know it. Reading one of Karrie's final reports is enlightening. As Karrie put it, “A few studies had been done in Southern California on grass, a few plants, and a few plant combinations in landscapes, but none were done with the scientific study design that Loren had conceptualized. Ours was, and still is, completely unique in both the number of plants on each irrigation treatment and in the way that we irrigated, which was to alter the timing rather than the amount of water given. So, not first, but first of its kind. And again, the credit goes to Loren. The parameters in the methods for evaluating the plant performance were my development.”
The Learning Landscape: Stockton's Master Gardener Demo Garden Thrives
Sustainable landscapes and smart plant choices can be seen tucked away on the southern edge of Stockton, at the San Joaquin's County's Robert Cabral Agricultural Center at 2101 E. Earhart Avenue, near the Stockton Airport. Thanks to the hard work of many San Joaquin County Master Gardeners and Karrie Reid, a demonstration garden was created featuring many of the Arboretum All-Stars. The demo garden is open 24/7 and is divided into six gardens: the All-Star Garden, the Edible Landscape, the Mediterranean Garden, the Edible Garden, the Pollinator Garden, and the California Garden. Learn more by clicking here.
Moving Forward: Future Favorites and Climate-Ready Plant List
Ellen's successors at the Arboretum have selected a shorter list of plants to recommend for Central Valley gardens based on their low water needs, drought tolerance, habitat value and beauty to the eye. This short list of 20 plants is being recommended by the UC Davis Arboretum as climate-ready plants. Several California natives are included, as well as a few selections from Australia and Texas. California natives include creeping Oregon grape (Berberisaquifolium var. Repens), rosada coral bells (Heuchera 'Rosada'), bladder pod (Peritomaarborea), and Gregg'ssalvia (Salviagreggii (var.)). Non-native beauties include the Pink Eyre Australianfuschia (Correapulchella 'Pink Eyre') and Texas mountain laurel, (Dermatophyllumsecundiflorum). A downloadable PDF is available here. 
The Arboretum All-Stars began as a clever marketing strategy to help support the UC Davis Arboretum through its plant sales and have gone on to revolutionize the way Californians garden. Being water efficient in the landscape is indeed critical for a sustainable future.
To learn more about the UC Davis Arboretum Public Garden and Teaching Nursery plant sales, visit their website.