Common name:Winifred Gillman Blue Sage
Botanical name:Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'

The ' Winifred Gillman' Sage is a dense, compact sub-shrub that grows to 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.

Maintenance Tips

Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' is a hybrid of the California native Cleveland Sage. This is probably the most aromatic hybrid of these native woody sages. This variety can grow into a dome shape 5' tall and wide. The tall flower stalks emerge in the spring and are very attractive to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. It performs best in a sunny location with the space to reach its full mature size. Once the flowers have faded, the spent stalks can be deadheaded to keep the shrub looking tidy and encourage additional flowers. Woody shrubs tend to become dense with lots of cross-branching, so thinning out the branching and allowing sunlight to the interior will benefit the plant and will encourage new, green growth. This shrub can take more aggressive hedging, cutting back by about a third in the winter to keep the nice dome shape.

Common name:Santa Barbara Daisy, Mexican Daisy
Botanical name:Erigeron karvinskianus

This low mounding perennial, with fine leaves and white to pinkish, daisy-like flowers, is an excellent asset to rock gardens.

Maintenance Tips

Erigeron karvinskianus is a very vigorous, spreading perennial that can get 12-18" tall and spread out to 5'. It is a very fast grower and is covered with pinkish-white flowers nearly year-round. It is fairly drought tolerant and can thrive in just about any soil conditions. This plant can often become invasive in small gardens because it spreads and can over-seed and easily overtake other plants. Maintenance on this plant is only considered low if it is planted in mass and not competing with other plants. If this is used in a small garden, it will require regular pruning to manage its size. It may also be necessary to apply pre-emergent throughout the garden to keep the seeds from germinating and overtaking the garden.

Common name:Sonoma Sage, Creeping Sage
Botanical name:Salvia sonomensis

This low growing, native ground cover has glaucous (covered with whitish, waxy material) green leaves with blue violet flowers that bloom in the spring and summer.

Common name:Collingwood Ingram Rosemary
Botanical name:Rosmarinus officinalis 'Collingwood Ingr

This spreading Rosemary is 2.5' high and 4' wide with violet blue flowers.

Common name:Brazilian Lilac Verbena
Botanical name:Verbena bonariensis

This 4'-5' tall plant is a drought hardy performer, with blooms atop the sturdy, squarish stem all summer and fall. The flower is a striking purple tuft that makes a good fresh or dried flower. The sparse foliage makes this a great accent flower that hovers high and blends well. Deadheading will prolong its blooming.