Common name:Sweet Orange cultivars
Botanical name:Citrus sinensis

This tree will grow 20'-30' high and 10'-15' wide; it produces sweet, tasty oranges. It has shiny green, leathery foliage and produces clusters of fragrant white flowers that bloom in the spring.

Common name:Mediterranean Fan palm
Botanical name:Chamaerops humilis

Slow growing to 20' tall but very hardy, the Mediterranean Fan palm is clump forming with rich green foliage. It can be used as a good container subject. It does best in full sun or partial shade. Petioles have sharp spines.

Common name:Tall Fescue, Marathon (turf)
Botanical name:Festuca arundinacea 'Marathon'

This grass is best when kept at about 2"-2.5" high, but it has a root depth of about 6'. It is a beautiful, dark green color all year and is used in a variety of locations.

Common name:Blue Fescue
Botanical name:Festuca glauca

This ground cover/grass will grow less than 1' tall and has small, blue green leaves.

Maintenance Tips

Festuca glauca is a perennial clump-forming grass. It has soft straw-like leaves that form a blue-green dome that can get up to about 10 inches wide and tall. They prefer full sun and well-drained soil, but can tolerate slight shade, drought conditions, and poor soil nutrition. These will send out flower stalks in the summer, which should be cut back to the base after a few months to give them a cleaner appearance. They will also benefit from having any dead leaves pulled from the plant at any time of year, but the fall is typically the best time to clean up the foliage. It is short-lived in the landscape, with a lifespan of about 2-4 years after which it dies out in the center. Some might dig up and divide the living edges into several new plants, but most of the time it is easier to replace with a new one.

Common name:New Zealand Flax, Purple
Botanical name:Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum'

Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum' is an evergreen perennial. Big, dramatic plant composed of many swordlike, stiffly vertical leaves can reach 5' tall. Leaves are purple red. Flowers stems reach high above leaves, bearing clusters of 1"-2" blossoms in dark red.

Maintenance Tips

Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum' is one of the most popular hybrids of Flax. This variety matures at 4-6' tall and wide. The leaves are strap-shaped, and deep purple, tall flower stalks appear in the summer up to 10' tall. To keep the maintenance as low as possible, plant in a location that is full sun, and well-drained and give it the space it needs to reach maturity. These plants are often the victim of poor pruning habits, with gardeners cutting the leaves off in the middle or shearing them because they are too large for the space they have been given. If this is the case, they should be transplanted to a location where they can reach their full size, or other plants around them should be moved out of their way. Old leaves rarely fall off of the plant, so removing them as they age will help keep the plant looking and performing its best.

Common name:Tree Aloe
Botanical name:Aloe arborescens

This shrub is large, full of branches and produces deep orange blooms. The flowers produce a nectar that is attractive to many different birds; this plant is grown all over the world.

Common name:Toothless Sotol
Botanical name:Dasylirion longissimum

This evergreen shrub will grow to about 5' tall and 5' wide. It has narrow, grass-like leaves with creamy white flowers that bloom in early summer.

Common name:Rosemary
Botanical name:Rosmarinus officinalis

Rosemary is hardy in full sun areas where winter temperatures do not drop below 10 degrees F. They can be grown in a clay pot with well-drained, porous soil in bright indoor light, and will also flourish on the backporch in spring, summer and fall. Its beautiful, slowly trailing stems and shiny slender leaves are perfect for showing off the small, light blue flowers that blossom in the summer.