Common name:Dome Euphorbia
Botanical name:Euphorbia characias
This perennial will reach about 4' tall and has blue green leaves with bright green flowers that bloom from late winter to early spring.
Common name:Kleinia
Botanical name:Senecio mandraliscae
This succulent perennial will grow to about 1.5' tall and 2' wide. It has curved, bluish gray leaves that are about 3.5" long and very slender.
Common name:Blue Oat Grass
Botanical name:Helictotrichon sempervirens
The Blue Oat Grass is an evergreen, blue clumping grass that grows 12"-18" tall and wide. Its showy flowers are 1'-2' above the foliage. This plant looks good alone as well as in mass plantings. The blue oat grass likes dry hill sides and is drought tolerant.
Common name:Manzanita, Dr. Hurd
Botanical name:Arctostaphylos manzanita 'Dr. Hurd'
This is a large shrub with showy bark that reaches 8'-20' tall and wide. It has dark red bark, large pale green leaves and white to pink flower clusters that bloom from February to March.
Common name:Lamb's Ears
Botanical name:Stachys byzantina
This tiny, herbaceous perennial will grow less than 1' tall and has medium sized, grayish green leaves with blue and lavender flowers that bloom in the spring.
Maintenance Tips
Stachys byzantina is a perennial with extremely soft, thick, fuzzy silver leaves. It has a mounding growth habit and grows about 6” tall with a spread of about 12” wide. It is a very low-maintenance plant. Old leaves near the bottom of the plant will fade and can be removed to give the plant a neater appearance. It will send out flowers on stalks in the spring that will last until summer. Once they have finished blooming, stalks should be cut off at the base where they attach to the foliage. They are susceptible to over-watering and have a lifespan of about 2-4 years in the garden, after which they can be divided into new plants or replaced with new ones.Common name:Dusty Miller, Silver Groundsel
Botanical name:Senecio cineraria
The Dusty Miller exhibits growth to 1' or more, with velvet gray leaves that have broad, roundish lobes. Yellow flower heads appear through the middle of the plant during most months of the year. Cut heads back occasionally to encourage bushiness.
Common name:Aloe Vera or Medicinal Aloe
Botanical name:Aloe vera
The rosette of this plant consists of fleshy gray green leaves, which are narrow, succulent and erect with soft spines on margins. This Aloe is a slow to moderate grower. Flowers are spikes of yellow, 2'-3' tall and bloom late winter to summer. This aloe can form large clumps. It will tolerate full to partial sun, needs some supplemental water in heat and good drainage. It attracts hummingbirds. This aloe is a Mediterranean native. The sap is used for burns and abrasions.
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:Spanish Lavender
Botanical name:Lavandula stoechas
This dense shrub grows 2'-3' tall with blue gray foliage and deep purple flowers that have large showy bracts near the top of the spikes. It is drought tolerant .
Photographer: GardenSoft