Common name:Lavender Cotton
Botanical name:Santolina chamaecyparissus
This groundcover-small shrub will grow to 3' tall and has small, greyish-silver leaves with yellow flowers that bloom in the summer.
Common name:Early Sunrise Coreopsis
Botanical name:Coreopsis grandiflora 'Early Sunrise'
The 'Early Sunrise' is a wonderful cultivar and showy, southern U.S. native. Semi-double, deep yellow flowers that flush to orange-yellow near the center on 18" tall bushy plants bloom from June to September in full sun and average to dry soils. It makes for good cut flowers, and pruning keeps the plants abundant with blooms. -Holland WIldflower Farm
Common name:Whirling Butterflies White Gaura
Botanical name:Gaura lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies'
'Whirling Butterflies" is a profusely flowering perenial for all zones that grows 3' high. It has pink buds that open to showy white flowers (larger than other cultivars) in spring and summer. It needs full sun and is drought tolerant. - Cornflower Farms
Common name:Moonshine Yarrow, Milfoil, Sneezewo
Botanical name:Achillea 'Moonshine'
Long, straight stems with pale yellow flowers are striking on the mats of green to grey-green leaves of this plant, which are flatter and less divided than those of the Achillea millefolium. This Yarrow propagates easily from rooted cuttings or divisions which should be performed in the early spring or fall. Following bloom, one should dead head the plant and divide the clumps when it appears crowded. Introduced by Alan Bloom in the 1950's.
Common name:Powis Castle Artemisia
Botanical name:Artemisia 'Powis Castle'
This mounding shrub reaches 3 ft. high and up to 5ft. wide with fine silver foliage. - Cornflower Farms
Common name:Woolly Blue Curls
Botanical name:Trichostema lanatum
The Woolly Blue Curls is an evergreen shrub that reaches 3'-5' high. It has an open branching habit and has long stalks of brilliant purple woolly flowers in the spring and summer. This shrub is native to CA, is drought tolerant, and attracts hummingbirds. -Cornflower Farms
Common name:Leatherleaf Sedge
Botanical name:Carex buchananii
This orange-bronze ornamental grass/reed is 2-3'H x 1-2' W and does best in full sun to part shade.
Common name:Chinese Wisteria
Botanical name:Wisteria sinensis
While the sinensis is similar to the floribunda, it bears more rounded, full clusters of strongly fragrant flowers which open more or less all at once. There are usually 13-15 leaflets per leaf, and they require full sun and average to little watering. It comes in many colors such as blues, whites and purples.-Monterey Bay Nursery
Common name:Heavenly Bamboo
Botanical name:Nandina domestica
Nandina domestica is a graceful upright shrub that grows from 3' to 6' in height. It gets its name from its bamboo-like growth habit. When thinned from the center, it bears a remarkable resemblance to bamboo. It is best used in groups. It can be used in a shaded patio or out in a shrub border with full sun. An interesting feature of Heavenly Bamboo is the bronze color in the new growth when planted in full sun. It also bears clusters of white flowers in the spring.
Common name:Mexican Bush Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucantha
The Mexican Sage is a bushy shrub that grows 3'-4' tall and wide. It has hairy white stems, grey-green leaves and velvet-like purple flower spikes that bloom summer through fall. This shrub tolerates sun, light shade, little water, and is hardy to 15 degrees F. The Mexican sage is drought tolerant and attracts hummingbirds. -Cornflower Farms
Designer: Terri Nichols | Pavered Terrace |
Photographer: GardenSoft |
Practice grass-cycling by leaving short grass clippings on lawns after mowing, so that nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil.
Check your irrigation controller once a month, and adjust as necessary.
Most plants require only one-third as much water in winter as they do in summer.
Remove irrigation water and fertilizer from areas where you don't want weeds to grow.