Common name:Freeway Daisy, Trailing African Dai
Botanical name:Osteospermum fruticosum
This ground cover will grow 1-3' tall and has medium-size green leaves with purple or blue flowers that can bloom all year.
Common name:Reed Grass
Botanical name:Calamagrostis foliosa
This tufted perennial bunchgrass is native to the northern California coastal scrub. It forms a beautiful, dense mound of grey greeen leaves that reach 2' tall, with showy arching flower stalks to 3' tall. Reed Grass leaves assume an attractive purple coloration in the fall and winter. This evergreen should be grown under sun, with little or no summer watering required. -Monterey Bay Nursery
Common name:Giant Chain Fern
Botanical name:Woodwardia fimbriata
The giant chain fern is a large fern that grows 4-8 ft. tall. It can tolerate full sun but does best in some shade. This fern is native to California and is drought tolerant. -Cornflower Farms
Common name:Blue Beach Aster, Seaside Daisy
Botanical name:Erigeron glaucus
This perennial will grow 1' tall and 1.5' wide. It has blue/green foliage and lavender flowers that bloom in spring and summer.
Common name:Dwarf Orange Bulbine
Botanical name:Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark'
This beautiful succulent grows to about 1' tall by 1-2' wide. Orange flowers with fluffy yellow centers bloom almost all year long. Flowers are on tall spikes above foliage. Plants stay evergreen but will freeze to the ground in the event of serious frost. Frost-damaged plants will regrow in spring.
Designer: Debbie Ruskin | Granite Rock Bench |
Photographer: Debbie Ruskin |
Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.
Check soil moisture below the surface with a soil probe or large screwdriver, trowel or shovel. Don't assume the plants need water just because the soil surface looks dry.
Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.