Plant of the Month – September
Turpentine Bush Ericameria laricifolia Plant Form: Evergreen shrub Water Use: Very low Mature Size: 2-3 ft. tall x 2-4 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun, part sun Bloom Time: Summer (August), Fall (Sept-Nov) Native to: Southeast California to Texas, northwest Mexico (between 3,000 – 7,000 feet) Hardiness: Cold Hardy to 0°F Turpentine Bush is a dense evergreen shrub with bright green, needle-like leaves that smell like turpentine when crushed. Golden yellow flower clusters from late summer to fall turn this […]
Plant of the Month – April
Margarita Penstemon BOP Penstemon heterophyllus x ‘BOP’ Plant Form: Evergreen sub-shrub Water Use: Low Mature Size: 1-2 ft. tall and wide Exposure: Full sun, part sun Bloom Time: Spring (Apr-May), Summer (June-July) Native to: Hybrid from California parents Hardiness: Cold hardy to 10°F Margarita Penstemon BOP is a compact perennial with stunning blue flowers tinged with purple. It is noted for its tolerance of a wide range of garden conditions and for living longer than other cultivars of this species. It […]
Plant of the Month – August
Cimarron Sage Blue Ranger Leucophyllum zygophyllum Plant Form: Evergreen shrub Water Use: Low Mature Size: 3 ft. tall x 3-4 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun, reflected sun Bloom Time: Summer (June – Aug), Fall (Sept – Oct) Native to: Texas, Mexico, SW US Hardiness: Cold hardy to 10°F Cimarron Sage is a petite variety of normally much larger Texas Rangers, all known for their masses of flowers produced in response to summer and fall rains. This evergreen shrub is prized […]
Plant of the Month – Purple Phlomis
Purple Phlomis Purple Jerusalem Sage Phlomis purpurea Plant Form: Evergreen shrub Water Use: Low Mature Size: 2-4 ft. tall x 3-4 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun, light shade Bloom Time: Spring (Mar-May), Summer (June-Aug) Native to: Spain, Portugal, Morocco Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F Purple Phlomis offers a beautiful solution for hot, dry areas of a yard, forming a large mound of wooly leaves with whorls of rose-lavender, hooded flowers skewered in tiers on long spikes of fuzzy stems. Its […]
Plant of the Month – August
Desert Senna Senna armata Plant Form: Shrub Water Use: Very low Mature Size: 2-3 ft. tall x 2-4 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun Bloom Time: Spring (April-May), Summer (June – July) Native to: California, Arizona, Nevada, Baja California Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F Desert Senna is one of those surprising plants that almost disappears into the landscape until it bursts into bloom with an explosion of flowers that can cover almost every inch of the plant. Most of the year, […]
Plant of the Month – May
Catmint Nepeta faassenii Plant Form: Perennial Water Use: Low, moderate Mature Size: 1-2 ft. tall x 2-3 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun, part sun Bloom Time: Late spring (May), summer (June, July) Native to: Asia, Europe, Africa Hardiness: Cold hardy to 0°F Catmint is beloved by gardeners for a host of features: it is fast-growing, long-lived, low-maintenance, resistant to browsing animals and pests, attractive to butterflies and bees, water-wise, and is graced with periwinkle-blue flowers over a long bloom season. This cornerstone […]
