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Lush and Lovely
Spanish Lavender
Pink Stripe Flax
Catmint
Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum
Eulalia or Maiden Grass
Strawberry Madrone, Marina Strawber
Jerusalem Sage
Smooth-edged Agave
Common Yarrow, Milfoil
Spanish Lavender

Common name:Spanish Lavender
Botanical name:Lavandula stoechas

This dense shrub grows 2-3 ft. tall with blue gray foliage and deep purple flowers that have large showy bracts near the top of the spikes. It is drought tolerant . - Cornflower Farms

Pink Stripe Flax

Common name:Pink Stripe Flax
Botanical name:Phormium 'Pink Stripe'

Phormium 'Pink Stripe' is an evergreen perennial. Big, dramatic plant composed of many swordlike, stiffly vertical leaves in a fan pattern. Flowers stems reach high above leaves, bearing clusters of 1-2 in. blossoms in dull red to yellow.

Catmint

Common name:Catmint
Botanical name:Nepeta X faassenii

Nepeta faassenii makes soft, gray-green, undulating mounds o 1.5 ft. high in bloom. The small leaves are attractive to cats. This perennial has lavender blue flowers in late spring, and early summer.

Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum

Common name:Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum
Botanical name:Pittosporum tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf'

This handsome dwarf form of the Pittosporum tobira grows into a low, dense mound that is covered with glossy, evergreen foliage.

Eulalia or Maiden Grass

Common name:Eulalia or Maiden Grass
Botanical name:Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus'

The 'Gracillimus' is a taller variety, often growing to 6-8' tall with delicate feathery plumes and very thin graceful leaves. It should receive sun to part shade, and average to little summer watering. -Monterey Bay Nursery M

Strawberry Madrone, Marina Strawber

Common name:Strawberry Madrone, Marina Strawber
Botanical name:Arbutus 'Marina'

The 'Marina' has gorgeous bark, with leaves that are smaller and not as glossy as Pacific Madrone. Its flowers are pink, borne in pendant clusters in the summer. The fruit is large, red and quite ornamental. The plant should be grown in sun to part shade, with little or no summer watering when established. The 'Marina' prefers good drainage. -Monterey Bay Nursery

Jerusalem Sage

Common name:Jerusalem Sage
Botanical name:Phlomis fruticosa

This hardy perennial is a useful, old-time garden plant with coarse, woolly gray/green, wrinkled leaves and yellow, 1" flowers in ball-shaped whorls. It handles drought and poor soils but needs full sun.

Smooth-edged Agave

Common name:Smooth-edged Agave
Botanical name:Agave weberi

This is a striking medium-sized agave that can grow to 5' tall by 6-10' wide. This agave has very fine marginal teeth, and is sometimes spineless. Supplemental summer watering can prevent yellowing from heat stress in the summer. These plants are also moderately cold hardy, tolerant of temperatures down to 12f. More refined looking than americana. Prone to weevils. Native in Eastern central Mexico. One of the largest of the Agaves.-Mountain States Nursery

Common Yarrow, Milfoil

Common name:Common Yarrow, Milfoil
Botanical name:Achillea millefolium

Highlighting this perennial are spreading mats of fern-like rosettes, along with deeply divided leaves of a green or grey green color. In this form, the flowers are usually a white tone. Stems can reach 2-3ft above foliage. The yarrow propagates easily from rooted cuttings or division, which should be performed in the early spring or fall. Following bloom, one should dead head the plant and divide the clumps when it appears crowded.

Designer: Barbara Jackel Landscape Dsgn

Lush and Lovely

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.

Water Saving Tip:

Apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch in planting beds to conserve water, suppress weeds, and protect the soil from compaction and erosion.

Integrated Pest Management:

Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.