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21 09, 2021

Wild Buckwheats

2021-09-21T19:38:43-07:00Categories: Blog, California Native, Garden Plants, groundcovers, perennials, shrubs|Tags: , , , |

What could be more emblematic of the summer-dry/winter wet, semi-arid, and arid climates of western North America than the wild buckwheats? Annuals, perennials, and low to medium or tall shrubs, one or more species of Eriogonum is native from western Canada to Baja California and throughout much of the intermountain west. More than 100 species are native to California, from seaside cliffs to rocky alpine outcrops. Eriogonum grande var. rubescens Most of the buckwheats commonly available to gardeners are shrubs or shrubby perennials with green to gray-green or silvery gray leaves and masses of tiny flowers in small,

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11 09, 2021

Grevillea ‘Austraflora Fanfare’

2021-09-11T07:55:54-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, groundcovers|Tags: , |

Dozens of grevilleas have moved in and out of the nursery trade over the years, mostly medium to large shrubs and a few mounding groundcovers with needlelike, narrowly oval, or finely divided leaves and intriguing flowers typically described as either "spidery" or brushlike. Grevillea ‘Austraflora Fanfare’ Grevillea 'Austraflora Fanfare' is distinctive for its nearly flat, widespreading habit and its long, dark green leaves deeply lobed in sawtooth fashion. Less than a foot tall and spreading 10-15 feet wide, the dense foliage drapes over walls and cascades down banks, prominently displaying the pinkish red, one-sided, brushlike flowers from late

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4 02, 2016

California pipevine

2016-09-27T19:49:25-07:00Categories: Blog, groundcovers, vines|Tags: , , , , |

Aristolochia californica, California pipevine,  with chrysalis of pipevine swallowtail butterfly California pipevine (Aristolochia californica) is one of the first plants to flower in my northern California garden, sending forth dozens, no hundreds, of tiny blossoms on leafless stems in mid-winter, after the manzanitas but before flashier plants such as native irises grab center stage.  Their appearance, noticed only up close at first, signals the approaching end of winter and fuels my anticipation of full-on gardening weather. The flowers are, to say the least, unusual.  They grow more like fruits than flowers, maturing, right before your eyes, from a

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23 02, 2015

Dwarf Coyote Brush

2021-02-25T19:58:14-08:00Categories: Blog, groundcovers, shrubs|Tags: , , , |

In the world of living plants and landscapes there is no equivalent of the little black dress – the absolutely carefree plant that goes anywhere with the right accessories – but this has never stopped us from looking for one.  Nor has it stopped us from believing we’ve found such a plant, from embracing it with too much enthusiasm and then rejecting it outright when it fails to live up to impossible expectations, moving on to the next high fashion. Nowhere is this trend more obvious than in our vain attempts to completely cover the ground.  In the 1960s we

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