Common name:Mexican Bush Sage, Velvet Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucantha
The Mexican Sage is a bushy shrub that grows 3'-4' tall and wide. It has hairy white stems, gray 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
Common name:Fox Tail Agave, Velvet Agave
Botanical name:Agave attenuata
This Agave has a dramatic tropical form. Even light frost can damage its succulent leaves. It is great for containers. In the low desert, partial sun will be best. If it becomes top heavy, simply cut and stick in the ground to root. It is not a fast grower and has light green foliage. It will also die after flowering but pups around the mother will survive. Distinctive with its large rosette of leaves perched on a long curving trunk, it is a native from Mexico.
Common name:Endress' Cranesbill
Botanical name:Geranium endressii
This handsome plant has near-evergreen leaves which have a long blooming period.
Common name:Jerusalem Sage
Botanical name:Phlomis fruticosa
This hardy perennial is a useful, old-time garden plant with coarse, woolly gray green, wrinkled leaves and yellow, 1" flowers in ball-shaped whorls. It handles drought and poor soils but needs full sun.
Common name:Australian Grass Tree
Botanical name:Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata
This grassy perennial will eventually grow to 15' high. It is a tree-like plant. Foliage is fiber optic looking with linear green leaves that are 2'-4' long and shimmer in the wind. The long flowering stalk resembles a jousting lance and is a stunning accent plant. Tall grasses are highly combustible.
Common name:Daylily, D. Moon Hybrid
Botanical name:Hemerocallis 'D. Moon'
This Daylily has clear yellow blooms above handsome, grass-like, green foliage. Flowers are perched on thin wiry stalks, about 2' tall. It has even bloomed in January! But typically, you see blooms in spring. Daylilies prefer full sun and regular watering. Provide well draining soil and compost.
Common name:Climbing Penstemon
Botanical name:Keckiella cordifolia
This sprawling shrub grows to 5' tall and 5' wide; it has bright green, evergreen leaves with tubular red flowers that bloom spring through summer. This California native prefers sun to part shade and is drought tolerant once it's established. Hummers love the flowers. This shrub is deciduous in summer unless given more water. This shrub looks great on hillsides and is striking during bloom time. Prune in fall to manage growth.
Putting the right plants in the right places in the right groupings is both the challenge and art of good landscape design.
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Designer: Los Angeles Arboretum | LA Arboretum 9 |
Photographer: GardenSoft |
Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.
Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.