Slow-growing, Mediterranean evergreen shrub or tree with aromatic leaves used in cooking. Naturally multi-trunked so may tend to send out suckers. Often trained as a topiary in containers to provide a formal appearance. ‘Saratoga’ has broader leaves and an upright growth habit.

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

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green - Dark
• Flower Color: Yellow
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummer
• Fruit Color: BlackPurple

• Size: Medium

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

Classic, aromatic, small, Mediterranean evergreen shrub that works well in a mass or mixed planting in a sunny location with good drainage. Blue-to-purple flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies, and seeds provide food to birds. Shear plants by one-third to one-half after flowering to maintain a neat appearance. Vulnerable to root rot in damp locations or if organic mulch is too close to plant crown.

Examples: English lavender (L. angustifolia, 1-2’ x 2-3’) and many cultivars, French Lavender (L. dentata, 3-4’ x 4-6’), hedge lavender (L. x intermedia, 1-2’ x 2-3’), Spanish lavender (L. stoechas, 2-3’ x 2-3’) featuring large and showy bracts on top of flower spikes.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Gray Green
• Flower Color: BlueLilac
• Blooming Season (s): Summer

• Size: Small

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesMMWDWater Smart Plants Cards

Large, fast-growing, Mediterranean evergreen shrub with large, pinkish lavender and purple hibiscus-like flowers from spring into fall. Excellent accent plant for a sunny location or part shade in hotter areas with good drainage.

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

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

• Size: Large

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape Templates

Aloysia citriodora is a fast growing, evergreen shrub. They can reach to 6 feet or more once completely grown. These have a unique lemon scent, it brings a bright zesty smell and taste rather than other lemony herbs. The plant brings beauty to a landscape with its refreshing scent as well as the white and purple colors to compliment the scenery.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Well Drained

• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: PurpleWhite
• Blooming Season (s): SummerFall

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

Evergreen shrub from South Africa with deep green leaves and showy whorls of orange flowers in summer and fall that are attractive to bees and butterflies. Cut back in late winter for renewed growth and to promote flowering.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: GreenGreen - Dark
• Flower Color: Orange
• Blooming Season (s): SummerFall

• Size: Medium

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape Templates

California native, perennial groundcover with a variable form from 1-3’ high. Lavender, yellow-centered, daisy-like flowers bloom in late summer and fall. The most commonly available cultivar is L. f. ‘Silver Carpet’, which forms a mat of silvery foliage 6-12” high and 4-8’ wide. Provides both a nectar and larval food source for butterflies. Light pruning after flowering keeps this plant tidy.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full Sun
• Soil: Well Drained

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Gray GreenGreenSilver
• Flower Color: LavenderPink
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummerFallWinter

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape Templates

Small, clumping, Mediterranean perennial with large leaves and papery, purple and white flowers from spring into the summer months. Frost tender below 25°F.

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

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green - Dark
• Flower Color: BluePurple
• Blooming Season (s): SummerFall

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape Templates

Clumping, grass-like Australian evergreen perennial that grows 4-5’ tall and wide. Adapted to various soil and sun exposure conditions. Flowers in spring and into summer with fragrant clusters of smaller yellow flowers. L. l. ‘Breeze’ is a smaller cultivar that grows 2-3’.

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

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

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden Sense

Honeysuckle is a varied group of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and vines with fragrant, tubular flowers. Several species are native to California and are well suited to gardens in Sonoma and Marin counties. Flowers are attractive to bees and hummingbirds and berries provide food for birds.

Examples: California honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula) is a deciduous, vining shrub often seen growing in woodland environments. Cream and pink flower clusters in spring are followed by red berries in late summer. Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata, 6-10’ x 6-10’) is a deciduous shrub that typically grows along streams and other moist places. Tubular, red and yellow flowers grow in pairs, followed by dark pairs of berries. Provide light shade in warmer locations. Box honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida, 4-5’ x 4-6’) is an evergreen shrub native to China that is often used as a small hedge.

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

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: PinkYellowWhite
• Blooming Season (s): Summer

• Life Cycle: Perennial

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseMMWD

Attractive, Chinese evergreen shrub with gently drooping branches and unusual flowers with thread-like petals in the spring. Commonly available either with green leaves and white flowers, or purple leaves and pink flowers. Well suited to understory locations with partial shade in hotter locations. Grows naturally as a shrub but may be available as a standard or espalier.

• Water: Low
• Light: Full SunPartial Shade
• Soil: Loam

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

• Size: MediumLarge

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseSonoma Super Star

Popular group of annuals, perennials, and shrubs with distinctive divided leaves that are common throughout the western United States, including California. Pea-like flowers are displayed on spikes and are attractive to bees and other pollinators. Most native lupines are purple-flowered, while some are yellow. Provide full sun and good drainage and watch out for slugs and snails.

Examples: Silver bush lupine (L. albifrons, 3-4’ x 3-4’), prostate lupine (L. albifrons var. collinus, 12-18” x 12-18”), coastal bush lupine (L. arboreus) available with either blue or yellow flowers but can be invasive in some north coastal dunes, and blue-and-white lupine (L. bicolor) a low-growing, annual wildflower.

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

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: GreenSilver
• Flower Color: BlueVioletYellow
• Blooming Season (s): SpringSummer

• Life Cycle: AnnualPerennial
• Size: SmallMedium

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseLandscape TemplatesWater Smart Plants Cards

This medium-to-large, evergreen Channel Island native tree offers fern-like leaves, peeling bark, and large, flat-topped, creamy white flower clusters in spring or summer. Flowers are attractive to pollinating insects and birds and gradually turn brown. Leaf fall from the tree provides a layer of mulch to the drip line.

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

• Foliage: Evergreen
• Leaf Color: Green
• Flower Color: White
• Blooming Season (s): Spring

• Size: MediumLarge

• Featured On A Local List? : Garden SenseMMWDSR Climate Forward Tree