Common name:Butterfly-Iris, Fortnight Lily
Botanical name:Dietes iridioides

This clumping evergreen Iris bears tall, narrow leaves to 30" tall and white flowers marked purple in the center on stalks up to 3' tall. This variety has stiffer, darker foliage than the bicolor form. It requires sun to part shade with little or no summer watering when established.

Common name:Star Jasmine, Maile Haole
Botanical name:Trachelospermum jasminoides

Star Jasmine is an evergreen vine that grows 20' tall or a ground cover that reaches 1'-2' tall and 4'-5' wide. It has white fragrant flowers in the summer and can tolerate sun or partial shade. The star jasmine needs regular watering. Leaves are dark green, oval, thick, about 2" long. This is a great plant on a trellis, in containers or in a parking strip.

Common name:Shrub Rose
Botanical name:Rosa Shrub varieties

The dark green, heavily veined leaves of this bushy shrub are strong support for the pure white or pink, nearly double flowers it produces. This is a very tolerant, heavily scented plant with an impressive fall color. Also, large hips appear intermittently with this plant.

Common name:New Zealand Flax
Botanical name:Phormium tenax

New Zealand Flax is a large, bold plant with stiffly vertical, sword-like, green leaves that arise from its base. It should be grown under full sun for best color. Varieties will offer different growth habits and leaf color.

Maintenance Tips

Phormium tenax is a perennial that grows as a clump with strap-like leaves. This is a very popular plant and has many different hybrids that are selected for their different foliage colors, sizes, and textures. When growing this species, there is a lot of genetic variety, so the size of the mature plant can range from 2' up to 8'. 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.

Common name:Iceberg Floribunda Rose
Botanical name:Rosa 'Iceberg'

This is a shrub rose (there are climbing varieties) with an abundance of fragrant, medium sized, white blooms. It is one of the most popular roses and very tough.