Common name:Saltillo Evening Primrose
Botanical name:Oenothera stubbei
This ground cover grows quickly to 6" x 4'. The dense mat of dark green foliage provides a nice back drop for the large butter yellow flowers. Blooms appear spring through fall. The flowers have a sweet fragrance and are open from dusk to early morning. Native to northeast Mexico.
Common name:Purple or Gray Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucophylla
The Purple Sage is an evergreen shrub that grows 2'-3' tall and 5'-6' wide. It has white stems and leaves and light purple flowers that bloom between May and June. This shrub tolerates heat and drought. The Purple Sage is a California native.
Common name:Mexican Bush Sage, Velvet Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucantha
The Mexican Sage is a bushy shrub that grows 3'-4' tall and wide. It has hairy white stems, gray green leaves and velvet-like purple flower spikes that bloom summer through fall. This shrub tolerates sun, light shade, little water, and is hardy to 15 degrees F. The Mexican Sage is drought tolerant and attracts hummingbirds. -Cornflower Farms
Common name:Dr. Hurd Manzanita
Botanical name:Arctostaphylos 'Greensphere'
This manzanita is a dense, mounding shrub with shiny red bark that looks great with the bright green foliage. The new growth is an attractive reddish color and the blossoms are white, appearing in winter to early spring. This shrub tends to grow in a round form without pruning and has very dense foliage. It is slow growing and reaches about 5 feet in height and width. It is thought to be a natural hybrid of Arctostaphylos edmundsii.
Common name:Mexican Redbud
Botanical name:Cercis can. var. mexicana
This native, deciduous tree has glossy green heart-shaped leaves with wavy margins. Dark pink flowers appear before leaves emerge in the spring, creating quite a color show. It prefers afternoon shade in low deserts and requires good drainage. It usually has a multi-trunk form, and makes an excellent small patio tree.
Common name:Grace Smoke Bush
Botanical name:Cotinus X 'Grace'
An excellent large garden shrub valued for its brilliant orange and red fall foliage, large flowers and pink inflorescences which produce a fuzzy, smoky appearance throughout summer, hence the name; it is a very large shrub to 12-15 ft. Grace Smokebush features airy panicles of yellow flowers with coral-pink stalks at the ends of the branches from early to late summer. It has bluish-green foliage which emerges brick red in spring. The round leaves turn an outstanding red in the fall. Grace Smokebush is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Designer:
Photographer: Vicki Anderson
Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.
Remove irrigation water and fertilizer from areas where you don't want weeds to grow.