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.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Most Soils

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: Lavender
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummer

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesMMWDSCLLL

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.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: BronzeGreenReddish
• Flower Color: PinkRedYellowWhite
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFall

• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Size: Small

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesMMWDSCLLL

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.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Gray GreenGreen
• Flower Color: PinkRedYellowWhite
• Blooming Season (s): Summer

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

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”.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Herbaceous
• Leaf Color: Blue Gray
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFallWinter

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

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.

• Water: Low
• Light: Partial ShadeShade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green - Dark
• Flower Color: Blue
• Blooming Season (s): Summer

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

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.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Herbaceous
• Leaf Color: Gray Green
• Flower Color: BlueLavender
• Blooming Season (s): Spring

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape Templates

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.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Deciduous
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: BlueLavenderPinkWhite
• Blooming Season (s): Spring

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

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.

• Water: Very LowLow
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: GreenSilver
• Flower Color: LavenderPurple
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFall

• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Size: Small

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesMMWDSonoma Super Star

These aromatic Mediterranean perennials and sub-shrubs include many types used for culinary purposes, as well as others used as ornamental groundcovers.

Examples: The following examples are all available in many named varieties.

• Lemon thyme (T. x citriodorus, 1’ x 2’) has a lemony fragrance.
• Creeping thyme (T. praecox, 2-6” x 2-3’) provides an excellent groundcover between stepping stones.
• Woolly thyme (T. pseudolanuginosus [lanuginosus], 2-4” x 3’) has wooly gray leaves.
• Elfin thyme (T. serpyllum ‘Elfin’, 1-2” x 6-12”) is one of the smallest thymes with tiny leaves and a very compact growth habit.
• Common thyme (T. vulgaris, 1’ x 2’) and named varieties are most commonly used for culinary purposes.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: LavenderPurple
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFall

• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Size: Small

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesMMWDSonoma Super Star

Society garlic is the most commonly available from this group of South African perennials.  Clumps of narrow, evergreen, strappy leaves are topped with tall flower stalks that display clusters of lavender flowers from spring through summer. Society garlic has a strong garlic-like odor!

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Most Soils

• Foliage: Herbaceous
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: Lavender
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummer

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

Chinese evergreen elm has proven to be one of the most resistant species to Dutch elm disease and is a good choice for California gardens where a large tree is needed. This tree from China, Korea, and Japan has a broad, rounded canopy and is semi-evergreen in milder climate zones. Exfoliating bark provides additional interest. Several cultivars are available offering different leaf characteristics.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Most Soils

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFallWinter

• Size: Large

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesSonoma Super StarSR Climate Forward Tree

Fast-growing perennials that thrive in hot locations and produce clusters of small, showy flowers in summer.

Examples:

• V. bonariensis (3-6’ x 2-3’) is an upright perennial from South America with long, airy flower stalks. Reseeds readily and should not be planted near riparian areas where it can be invasive.
• Garden verbena (V. x hybrida, 6-12” x 2-3’) is a popular and showy groundcover available in many colors.
• Cedros Island verbena (V. lilacina ‘De La Mina’, 1-2’ x 2-3’) from the Cedros Island off the coast of Baja California is a popular native for its deep purple flower color and uniform growth habit.

• Water: Very LowLow
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Herbaceous
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: PinkPurpleRedWhite
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFall

• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Size: SmallMedium

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesMMWDSonoma Super Star