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Color Walk Garden 15
Indian Hawthorne
Garden Geranium
Sticks on Fire Pencil Tree
Butterfly-Iris, Fortnight Lily
Mealy Cup Blue Sage
Trailing Germander
Soap Aloe, African Aloe
Golden Barrel Cactus
Indian Hawthorne

Common name:Indian Hawthorne
Botanical name:Rhaphiolepis indica

This small shrub will grow 2' tall and 4' wide. It has small, dark green leaves that get a red tint in the winter and deep pink flowers that bloom fall through spring.

Garden Geranium

Common name:Garden Geranium
Botanical name:Pelargonium X hortorum

Pelargonium X hortorum is a shrubby, succulent perennial stemmed to 3' or more. Round or kidney-shaped leaves are velvety and hairy, soft to the touch, aromatic, with edges distinctly lobed and scalloped toothed. Single and double flowers are flatter and smaller than those of Pelargonium domesticum variety, but clusters bear more blossoms.

Sticks on Fire Pencil Tree

Common name:Sticks on Fire Pencil Tree
Botanical name:Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire'

In frost free areas, Euphorbia can become a 30' tree but in colder areas, it is often knocked back by frost. It can be single or multiple trunked. It has green cylindrical branches that are about the diameter of a pencil. Leaves are not usually present. Some people are allergic to the sap. It is tolerant of salt, full sun, part shade and quite drought resistant. It is a great accent plant for a container. This form has yellow or orange branches if in full sun.

Butterfly-Iris, Fortnight Lily

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.

Mealy Cup Blue Sage

Common name:Mealy Cup Blue Sage
Botanical name:Salvia farinacea

This low growing perennial reach 1-1/2' x 1-1/2'. Bright green leaves are lighter underneath. Spiked blue-purple flowers bloom from late spring to fall. Attracts hummingbirds.

Trailing Germander

Common name:Trailing Germander
Botanical name:Teucrium X lucidrys

This mini-shrub with small, shiny, dark green leaves on woody stems can be sheared and shaped. The stems trail and rise to 24", with lovely, reddish purple flowers between the upper leaves. It can be used as a low hedge plant in herbal knot gardens. To encourage branching, it should be pruned in the spring.

Soap Aloe, African Aloe

Common name:Soap Aloe, African Aloe
Botanical name:Aloe maculata

This succulent plant will grow about 2' high and has large, white-spotted green leaves with orange, pink, and red flowers that bloom in spring and fall. Leaves may get a red tinge in colder weather. Somewhat cold sensitive.

Golden Barrel Cactus

Common name:Golden Barrel Cactus
Botanical name:Echinocactus grusonii

Golden Barrel Cactus has a globe shaped trunk and vertical ribs lined with thick rows of golden spines. It grows slowly to 3' tall. It looks handsome in containers. It can thrive in full sun but prefers some shade in low desert. This cactus prefers well drained soil and rots with poor drainage.

Designer: Annie Hall

Color Walk Garden 15
Image: 17 of 50

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.

Integrated Pest Management:

Remove irrigation water and fertilizer from areas where you don't want weeds to grow.