Water Smart Plant Picker

Small, mounding, aromatic Mediterranean shrubs that flower in summer with small yellow, button-like flowers. Prune in spring after flowering to maintain appearance. Two widely available species are lavender cotton (S. chamaecyparissus, 1-2’ x 2-3’) with gray-green foliage, and S. rosmarinifolia (1-2’ x 2-3’) with green foliage that resembles rosemary.

Shade-loving, low maintenance, evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves from the Himalayas and China. Small, fragrant, white flowers in late winter and early spring are followed by blue-black or red berries. S. hookerana humilis (1-2’ x 4-8’) is a low-growing form that spreads by underground runners. S. ruscifolia (4-6’ x 3-7’) is an upright shrub form.

Yerba buena is Spanish for “good herb” due to its medicinal qualities as a tea. This trailing herbaceous perennial has a minty fragrance and is native from British Columbia to Los Angeles County. Prefers a woodland setting with light shade and well-drained soil.

Large group of succulent plants that vary considerably in appearance and cold tolerance. Sedums can provide variety in texture among other plants and also work well in containers.

Examples:

• S. ruprestre ‘Angelina’ has brilliant chartreuse-yellow, needle-like foliage that turns rust- red in winter to form a striking groundcover.
• S. spathulifolium is a mat-forming, evergreen perennial native to California’s coast ranges and Sierra Nevada to British Columbia. Yellow, star-like flowers appear in late spring and early summer. S. s. ‘Cape Blanco’ has chalky-white foliage and S. s. ‘Purpureum’ has purple foliage.
• S. spurium is a ground-hugging succulent with trailing stems and small dark green, bronzy leaves about an inch long, and bears pink, white, or purple flowers in dome-shaped clusters in mid-summer. S. s. ‘Dragon’s Blood’ has red-margined, green leaves that become brilliantly red with cool autumn temperatures. S. s. ‘Bronze Carpet’ bears rich bronze-red foliage with pink flowers. S. s. ‘Tricolor’ leaves are variegated in green, creamy white, and pink.
• S. telephium ‘Autumn Joy’ (2’ x 2’) is a popular and robust hybrid with bright green leaves and clusters of pink flowers in summer that turn rusty brown in autumn. It dies back in winter and reemerges in spring.

Small, hardy alpines form rosettes of tightly packed, pointed leaves that come in a wide variety of forms colors and textures. All spread by offsets that cluster around the parent. Small, star-shaped flowers on fleshy stems in the summer. Rosettes die after flowering, but offsets live on.

Examples:

• Cobweb houseleek (S. arachnoideum, 3” and spreading) has web-like hairs on leaves.
• Hens and chicks (S. tectorum, 4-12” and spreading) are available in many cultivars.

Just a few plants from this vast group of plants are widely available in nurseries in California.

Examples:

• Dusty miller (S. cineraria, 2-3’ x 2-3’) is a Mediterranean perennial with white-gray leaves that produces clusters of cream or yellow flowers throughout the year.
• Blue chalksticks (S. mandraliscae, 1-2’ x 2-3’) is a spreading succulent from South Africa with fleshy, finger-like leaves up to 6” long.
• Blue Chalksticks (S. serpens, 6” x 1’) is similar to S. mandraliscae but is smaller and has shorter leaves of up to 2”.

California native perennial herb with oval shaped, gray-green leaves. Yellow flowers will appear in the summer and early fall. Natural habitat for birds and pollinating insects and tolerates a wide variety of soils.

Evergreen shrub or vine from Australia with glossy green leaves and clusters of small, bell-shaped, blue flowers in summer. Can be grown as a low-growing shrub or trained onto a support. Requires good drainage but will grow with full sun or some shade.

This native of Turkey, Armenia, and Iran has been grown in California gardens for many years due to its soft gray leaves. The low-growing form provides a great groundcover at the front of a border or along a pathway. Flower stalks in late spring and early summer provide additional interest with small, purple flowers. S. b. ‘Helen von Stein’ is notable for its larger leaves.

Syringa vulgaris is the best known and most drought-tolerant of the lilac species. This deciduous shrub from eastern Europe produces a spectacular display of pinkish or bluish flowers in clusters 10” or longer. Prune suckers as they develop. Lilacs generally bloom best with chilly winters.

Mediterranean, flowering, shrubby perennials with aromatic foliage.

• Wall germander (T. chamaedrys [x lucidrys], 1’ x 2’) is a popular groundcover with upright stems, dark green leaves, and red-purple or white flowers in summer.
• Majorcan germander (T. cossonii [majoricum], 6” x 2’) is a creeping perennial that produces a profusion of rosy purple flowers in mid-to-late spring.
• Bush germander (T. fruticans, 4-8’ x 4-8’) has silvery foliage and bears lavender-blue flower spikes from winter to spring and sporadically throughout the year.

Creeping thyme grows 2-3 inches tall and spreads 1-3 feet wide and can withstand foot traffic, making it an excellent choice for a walkable groundcover or turf alternative. It has fragrant pinkish-purplish tubular flowers which bloom in the summer. It requires well-drained, preferably sandy or rocky soil.