Common name:Sea Pink, Common Thrift
Botanical name:Armeria maritima
This clumping, grass-like perennial is native to many areas, including coastal CA. Its flowers range from deep rose pink through white.
Common name:Sticky Monkey Flower
Botanical name:Mimulus aurantiacus
Sticky Monkey Flower is a drought tolerant evergreen shrub 4' tall with numerous, orangish yellow flowers in spring and summer. It is a California native that attracts hummingbirds. This shrub can be found on the dry hills and canyon slopes in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the central Coast Ranges.
Common name:Yarrow
Botanical name:Achillea millefolium
This Achillea features spreading mats of fern-like rosettes, along with deeply divided leaves of a green or gray green color. In this form, the flowers are usually a white tone. Stems can reach 2'-3' above foliage. Yarrows propagate easily from rooted cuttings or division, 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.
Common name:Winifred Gilman Blue Sage
Botanical name:Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'
The ' Winifred Gillman' Sage is a dense, compact sub-shrub that grows to 4'-5' tall and wide, and has a round form. It has blue flowers in spikes above the foliage in the spring and summer. This sub-shrub is native to California and is drought tolerant.
Common name:Purple Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucophylla
The Purple Sage is an evergreen shrub that grows 2'-3' tall and 5'-6' wide. It has white stems and leaves and light purple flowers that bloom between May and June. This shrub tolerates heat and drought. The Purple Sage is a California native.
Common name:Mueller's Fescue
Botanical name:Festuca muelleri
This Central European native fescue has shiny, dark green foliage that is slightly bluish green. It is a cool season grass that grows up to 8 inches tall and equally wide. If massed together it can become a lawn alternative.
Common name:Pacific Wax Myrtle
Botanical name:Myrica californica
This large shrub/tree can reach 30' tall and has glossy, dark green leaves with purple nutlets that attract birds. It is used very effectively as a screen.
Putting the right plants in the right places in the right groupings is both the challenge and art of good landscape design.
Click in the green box for more information
Designer: Kate Ballantyne | Kate's Beauties |
Photographer: GardenSoft |
Incorporate compost 6" into your soil to retain water, reduce compaction, feed earthworms, and provide valuable nutrients to your plants.
Be sure to fix all leaks promptly no matter how small they may seem.
Attract, or buy beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings to control pest outbreaks in your garden.