landscape
See those low, blue-flowering mounds? They're aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) — native from the Rockies to most of the East Coast. This perennial shrugs off many hard freezes with gusto while still blooming into early November. A lover of sun to partial sun and dry soil, it will bring in the last of the pollinating insects every autumn. Reaching no more than 2 feet tall and about 3 to 4 feet wide after a few years, this aster is a front-of-the-border showstopper that's truly low maintenance.
Art boulders. A huge rock (or three or four) can do wonders to bring focus to your garden — define a zone, add interest to a grassy area or accent your favorite spot with just one great big rock. Plain boulders are beautiful on their own, but painted ones are another option to consider for an artful twist. You can either purchase rocks with painted designs or create your own.
Pacific Aster (Symphyotrichum chilense) Native to California, Oregon and Washington For gardeners in the West, this aster blooms from midsummer to early fall, starting out lavender blue and turning white. It can take many shapes — slightly sprawly to gangly to shrubby — depending on conditions, and reaches 1 to 3 feet in height. Pacific, or California, aster is adaptable, growing in coastal bluffs, in salt marshes, on slopes and in clearings in dry to moist soil. It spreads by rhizomes, so give it room to meander among grasses or other perennials.
Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), USDA zones 4-8. This is a plant that does well in full sun, so place it in a hot, sunny path. Like the thyme you're used to using in cooking, it has rounded leaves and a wonderful fragrance. But unlike its counterpart, creeping thyme grows nice and low to the ground (usually not more than 2 centimeters tall), and is extremely tough. It will grow in very difficult soils and can handle inconsistent watering.
Ginkgo Leaf StudioSave to IdeabookEmail Photo Versatile Coreopsis From spring to fall, coreopsis, also called tickweed, is an easy-care plant whose yellow, orange, red or purple flowers will attract butterflies to almost any garden. And once it has finished blooming, the seed heads will attract birds as well. The annual coreopsis can be grown in all USDA zones, while perennial choices are at home in all but the coldest or hottest climates (think Alaska, southern Texas and southern Florida). For something really unusual, check out C. tinctoria ‘Tiger Stripes’. Common names: Coreopsis, tickweed, calliopsis Botanical name: Coreopsis USDA zones: All, depending on species Water requirement: Little to moderate Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 1 foot to 2½ feet
Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) Native to prairies from Saskatchewan down through Texas A cousin to white prairie clover, purple prairie clover brings in a diversity of bees like you wouldn’t believe. Emily Dickinson once wrote, “To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee.” Pretty true, I’d say. This plant is tough as nails and prefers sun and dry, hot soil bookmarked 5 prarie flowers
book marked Botanical name: Ajuga reptaill grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zones 4 to 9; find your zone) Water requirement: Adaptable to either drought or saturated soils Light requirement: Partial shade is ideal, but will tolerate full sun in moist soil Mature size: 6 inches tall; spreads indefinitelyns ‘Catlin’s Giant’ Common names: Bugle weed Origin: Europe
Superbena ‘Violet Ice’ Superbena is a verbena that has been developed to be more vigorous, heat tolerant and mildew resistant than older varieties, and the color Violet Ice is the latest in the series. A quick Internet search for this hybrid will bring up photographs that show the color ranging from shades of magenta and purple to dark blue, yet in my own container the color shown here is a true representation. Violet Ice bloomed profusely in full sun with larger-than-average flowers in my garden. I trimmed it back a couple of times, as it got very big, which made it bloom all the more. The tag suggested it would also grow well in partial sun, but I have to disagree — I had very poor flowering when the plant received only four hours of afternoon sun. Botanical name: Verbena hybrid Origin: Garden hybrid Where it will grow: Hardy to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 8 to 11); use as an annual elsewhere Water requirement: Average to low Light requirement: Full sun for best performance Mature size: 12 to 16 inches tall and up to 30 inches wide Benefits and tolerances: Drought tolerant; deer resistant; attracts butterflies Seasonal interest: Summer When to plant: Spring Distinguishing tra...
Short and Sassy Sneezeweed I discovered the perennial sneezeweed (also called Helen’s flower) several years ago, and often use it as an alternative to black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia). The taller varieties do have a tendency to fall over if not staked, however, and flowering can be quite late in the season. Short and Sassy proved to have a much better attitude — nice and compact, and it pushed out vivid orange- and yellow-splashed flowers from early June until after a hard frost in late October. Botanical name: Helenium ‘Short and Sassy’ Origin: Garden hybrid Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 8) Water requirement: Average to low Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide Seasonal interest: Summer When to plant: Spring or fall Distinguishing traits: Compact; long bloom time; low maintenance Planting notes: Enjoy this at the front of a garden border or in a container.
Orange Rocket Barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Orange Rocket’) In a tapestry of green, blue and gold, this bold splash of ruby foliage is a welcome punctuation point from spring until fall. Orange Rocket is a relatively new introduction, noted for its upright growth habit and striking color; it turns to fiery shades of orange and red in fall. Origin: Garden hybrid Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 9) Water requirement: Low Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide Benefits and tolerances: Deer and rabbit resistant; drought tolerant When to plant: Spring or fall Note: Check with your local cooperative extension or county extension office before planting to see if barberry is considered invasive where you live.
Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape DesignSave to IdeabookEmail Photo Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) Native to Western Europe Can be invasive in parts of California A biennial, foxglove is easy to grow from seed and will happily continue to populate your garden once you have it. As it’s happy in both sun and shade, it tends to be a favorite in show gardens, giving height and architectural structure to plantings. Not only is the purple species a favorite of Chelsea designers, but so is Digitalis purpurea ‘Alba’, white foxglove, as well as the myriad modern varieties that are available in a range of mainly pastel shades
Giant Sea Holly (Eryngium giganteum) Native to the Caucasus Eryngium is a superb self-seeding biennial that seldom becomes a troublesome weed. Designers love it for its large, spiny, silver-gray flower heads with almost a metallic feel, held up to 30 inches high above the foliage. It loves full sun and is drought tolerant once established. Eryngium giganteum is also called Miss Willmott’s Ghost. The odd common name comes from the story that the famed English plantswoman used to secretly scatter seeds of the plant when visiting other peoples’ gardens.
White-Tinged Sedge (Carex albicans) Native from the Plains to the East Coast A slow spreader by rhizomes, with a height and width of 1 foot, this sedge takes almost any circumstance you can throw at it (sun; shade; moist, dry and other soils). Same goes for its cousin Carex brevior. You’ll see seed heads in May on this lovely, soft ground cover.
Blue Grama Grass (Bouteloua gracilis) Native to the prairies yet found in almost all of the states west of the Mississippi River Growing 6 to 12 inches tall, blue grama is great as a lawn alternative that slowly spreads by rhizomes and seed (you can even mow it). Blue grama has a dense root system that’s perfect for preventing soil erosion in full sun, and does well in dry clay. The midsummer seed heads are highly ornamental, as you can see in this image
Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) Native to the northern Plains and Rocky Mountains over to the West Coast I put my favorite first. Prairie smoke blooms in April to May, first getting drooping, red buds that soon open into upright and glittery troll-doll hair. Perfect for dry soils in full sun (rocky to clay), it spreads to about a foot wide and tall. In fall many of the flat leaves turn red and orange. Prairie smoke is the epitome of low maintenance.
How to Choose the Right Solar Lights bookmarked
book marked Most people don’t equate daylilies with drought tolerance, but these hardy blooms love dry weather and full sun. Even if you live in an area with a lot of deer, they’ll still thrive.
Horsetail plant also can create an effective, fast-growing screen. This hardy reed expands quickly to form an effective barrier — even around kids and pets or in an arid climate
in bookmarks Golden ragwort, a very aggressive seeder. You can cover a huge area in a few years by starting with just a handful of plants. In my own garden, I have been experimenting with underplanting warm- and cool-season grasses with perennials like this to suppress early cool-season weeds with great success
Botanical name: Helianthemum nummularium Common name: Sunrose, rock rose in book marks
Botanical name: Juniperus horizontalis Common name: Creeping juniper Origin: Native to the northern U.S. Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zone 4; find your zone) Water requirement: Medium to dry soil Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 12 to 20 inches tall with a spread of 4 to 8 feet Benefits and tolerances: Tolerates drought, rocky soil and air pollution; good for erosion control Seasonal interest: Year-round When to plant: Spring to fall Distinguishing traits. Creeping juniper does just as its name implies, spreading at a medium growth rate to form low mounds that cover the ground or cascade over the edges of containers.
Botanical name: Senna artemisioides (formerly Cassia artemisioides) Common name: Feathery cassia in bookmarks
Botanical name: Baileya multiradiata Common name: Desert marigold book marked
A mid- to late-fall bloomer, at about 1 to 3 feet tall and wide, heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides) attracts many insects to its flowers. Drought tolerant, it almost prefers sandy, rocky, dry clay soils. It’s native from the Great Plains eastward, and pearl crescent butterflies use it as a host plant.
There are many species of Baptisia; the most common one you’ll see in nurseries is Baptisia australis and its cultivars. Native to almost all of the Midwest to the East Coast, it’s a humidity-loving, drought-defying, clay-busting miracle plant. At a mature size of about 4 feet tall and wide, it provides for many sulphur butterfly species, as well as the hoary edge butterfly. Full sun is best.
The door to the right and the concrete bunker behind it are new. Tucked into the hill, the storage space helps convey the story of an old wine cellar, serving as a place to store extra chairs and cushions.
It grows like a weed (but isn't). lnstead of looking down on valerian's powerful survival instinct, why not celebrate it? This is another old-fashioned perennial with a long (spring-to-fall) bloom season. It is usually red but is also available in pink and white, and is typically seen in neglected gardens — as I recall it grew back with fellow survivor hollyhocks by my grandmother's chicken house. If you think you've seen red valerian too many times, look for the white form shown here. Valerian is said to grow well around stonework and walls, although I'm not sure why. It's best to plant it among annuals, perennials and shrubs at rustic edges of a garden, where its wildish look and invasive tendencies matter less. Common names: Valerian, Jupiter's beard Botanical name: Centranthus ruber USDA zones: 3 to 9 Water requirement: Light once established. Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade Mature size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide Growing tips: Get the plant off to a strong start by watering it regularly during the first growing season. It can become invasive. Cut off old flowering stems to prevent seeds from spreading. Remove dry foliage for a neater look. Divide clumps every f...
This planting of red bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima, zones 8 to 11) steals the show in a hot desert garden like the one shown here, but gardeners who receive freezes can get the same look with nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus, annual in all zones), crocosmia (Crocosmia crocosmiiflora, zones 5 to 9) or red hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria, zones 6 to 9).
bookmarked Guest Picks: 20 Gorgeous Perennials to Plant Now
Make a statement with a big swoop. Have a steep hillside that's impossible to plant? Use it to your advantage by building in a unique curved bench.
A barbed quatrefoil is one in which a square is laid over the four overlapping circles. The resulting triangular "barb" between each circular element gives a more controlling and geometrically fixed shape to the quatrefoil.
Botanical name: Baptisia australis Common name: Wild blue indigo Origin: Native in areas from the central Great Plains to the southeast and northeast U.S. USDA zones: 3 to 9 (find your zone) Water requirement: Medium to dry clay, sand Light requirement: Full to partial sun Mature size: 3 to 4 feet tall and wide Benefits and tolerances: Easy perennial; drought tolerant; offers winter interest; attracts native bees Seasonal interest: Good two-week bloom period, followed by ornamental seed bombs that make a rattling sound BOOK_MARKED
Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting in bookmarks on profile page Botanical name: Tetraneuris acaulis (formerly Hymenoxys acaulis) Common name: Angelita daisy Origin: Native to the American Southwest
Brian Maloney Design Associates Botanical name: Echium candicans (syn. Echium fastuosum) Common name: Pride of Madeira USDA zones: 9 to 10; hardy to about 25 degrees Fahrenheit (find your zone) Water requirement: Little to none Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 5 to 6 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide Benefits and tolerances: Flowers attract bees, birds and butterflies; deer resistant; drought and coastal tolerant Seasonal interest: Evergreen; flowers spring through summer When to plant: Plant seeds in spring; plant cuttings in midsummer. Caution: Pride of Madeira can irritate skin. Wear proper protection, including gloves, when handling it
Mediterranean Landscape by Urban Oasis Urban Oasis Planting notes. Provide full sun, minimal water and well-drained soil. Pride of Madeira prefers drier climates but thrives in coastal conditions without the threat of extreme temperature swings. Cut the plant back in fall, after flowering, to maintain a healthy, bushy shape and promote new growth. Pride of Madeira reseeds freely, which can be helpful, since it is not the most long-lived plant; it will fill in if the parent plant dies. You can also let seed heads dry on the plant and collect them to plant elsewhere in your garden or to prevent unmonitored spreading
by Kim Gamel Kim Gamel And if you'd like some constant color in a sha Kim Gamel dy perennial garden, Christmas fern is a good bet. Clumps grow to 2 feet tall and slowly spread by rhizomes to provide excellent evergreen color perfectly suited to a dry shade area.
BK-ed slope ground cover Great Design Plant: Winter Jasmine Gladdens Snowy Gardens
BK-ed Houzz Call: Show Us Your Hardworking Garden Shed!
BKed Encelia farinosa Common name: Brittlebush Origin: Native to the southwestern United States into northern Mexico Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zone 8; find your zone) Water requirement: Low Light requirement: Full, reflected sun Mature size: 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide Benefits and tolerances: Extremely drought tolerant once established;
Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’ Common names: Valentine Bush, Emu Bush ‘Valentine’ Origin: Native to Australia Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zone 8; find your zone) Water requirement: Low Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide Benefits and tolerances: Moderately drought tolerant once established, but looks best when watered twice a week in the summer and weekly in spring and fall. Water twice a month in winter. Seasonal interest: Flowers throughout the year in zones 9 and above. In zone 8 flowers appear in spring through fall.
Often grown as a wall shrub, California native coast silktassel (Garrya elliptica, zones 4 to 9) can make a superb evergreen hedge. Its long, silver tasseled catkins that light up the midwinter garden are the jewel in silktassel’s crown, contrasting beautifully against the deep green leaves. If you grow it as a hedge, it’s advisable to prune early in the year to avoid cutting out the next year’s catkins. ‘James Roof’ has wonderful silky catkins that grow up to 8 inches long.
Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus, zones 7 to 10) fits this category well. It’s surprisingly hardy for a Mediterranean native, shrugging off sharp frosts when other supposedly hardier plants succumb. Depending on the variety, it will happily reach 10 feet tall but is easily pruned and contained to any height required to create a hedge. Its outstanding feature is its ability to bear pink-tinged white flowers throughout the winter, finishing with an explosive burst of blossoms in the spring. Dark metallic-blue berries follow the flowers and nestle against the shiny, deep green foliage. Due to the plant’s nature of repeat flowering, both flowers and berries are found together through the winter. The straight species is perfectly good as a hedging plant, but there are some very good varieties, such as ‘Gwenllian’, with its deep pink flowers; the compact ‘Eve Price’; and ‘French White’, which has amazing pure white flowers.
BKed Eremophila hygrophana ‘Blue Bells’
BKed Creeping juniper (J. horizontalis cvs, zones 3 to 9) is a tough, drought-resistant conifer. It attains a height of less than 8 inches and can spread to 8 fee
BKed Grow a Beautiful Garden in Alkaline Soil
Convolvulus Cneorum BK-ed
b k-ed Violet silverleaf
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