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Some of our favorite plants and gardens for summer-dry climates.

15 03, 2022

Mule’s Ears

2022-03-15T10:22:16-07:00Categories: Blog, California Native, Garden Plants, Nora Harlow, perennials|Tags: , , , |

Every bit as cheerful as the better known annual sunflowers, the eight to a dozen species of Wyethia, or mule's ears, are low-growing perennials native to dry slopes, seasonally moist meadows, and woodland or forest openings in much of western North America. Most are 1-3 feet tall, with a loose rosette of large, broadly lance-shaped to oval, green or sometimes gray-green leaves and bright yellow sunflowers in late spring and early summer. Deciduous and dormant in winter, they reliably reappear as days lengthen in early spring. Wyethia angustifolia These are excellent plants for pollinators and other wildlife, attracting

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3 03, 2022

The Merits of Milkweed

2022-04-24T07:57:15-07:00Categories: Blog, Nora Harlow, perennials|Tags: , |

Another great plant for habitat gardens, milkweeds (Asclepias species) support more than the critically endangered monarch butterfly. As most gardeners know, monarch caterpillars feed only on milkweeds, which contain chemicals that are toxic or unpalatable to most other insects, birds, and mammals. Monarch caterpillars, along with the juveniles of several other insects, are able to metabolize and sequester these chemicals, in the process making themselves toxic or unpalatable to predators. Asclepias speciosa, showy milkweed, native to western North America Hundreds of other insects visit milkweed flowers for their high-quality, prolific, readily accessible nectar, including native bees, honey bees,

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19 02, 2022

Ornamental Currants and Gooseberries

2022-02-19T05:28:23-08:00Categories: Blog, California Native, Nora Harlow, shrubs|Tags: , , |

Although usually grown for their exquisite flowers, ornamental currants and gooseberries are ideal components of habitat gardens that provide year-round sustenance for wildlife. As some of the first shrubs to flower wherever they are found, they are important sources of early-season nourishment for hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators. Their leaves are food for the caterpillars of butterflies and moths that support the offspring of nesting birds. And their fruits, well, let's just say they're gone almost before the gardener has a chance to sample them. Ribes sanguineum, red- or pink-flowering currant Currants and gooseberries both belong to the

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3 02, 2022

Cultivated Varieties of Narcissus

2022-02-03T04:59:31-08:00Categories: Blog, bulbs, Garden Plants, Newsletters, Nora Harlow|Tags: , |

Almost everyone has a childhood memory of daffodils, that universal symbol of the end of winter and the arrival, once again, of spring. Fewer likely know that the plant with which most of us are familiar is one among dozens of species and thousands of registered cultivars of the genus Narcissus, hundreds of which are currently in commercial production. Narcissus ‘Grower’s Pride’ All narcissus are bulbs, all produce linear, strap-shaped, or sometimes rushlike basal leaves, and all bear flowers singly or in clusters of a few to many atop upright stems from six inches to two feet tall.

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19 01, 2022

Leucadendrons for the Garden

2022-01-22T05:13:41-08:00Categories: Blog, Nora Harlow, shrubs|Tags: , , |

Familiar to many as a knockout component of floral arrangements, leucadendrons are every bit as impressive in the garden. Most are best grown where winters are mild, soils are acidic, and excellent to perfect drainage can be provided, but some are less fussy than others. Dozens of these South African endemics are native to varied habitats, from damp coastal flats to frosty mountain slopes and from the summer-dry Western Cape to summer-rainfall KwaZulu-Natal. Leucadendron 'Little Bit', a hybrid of L. salignum and L. discolor, is a delicate offset here to the bold blue leaves of Agave americana  Most leucadendrons

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5 01, 2022

Aloe arborescens

2022-01-05T08:23:53-08:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, Nora Harlow, shrubs, succulents|Tags: , , |

There is nothing timid about Aloe arborescens. At six to eight feet tall and at least that wide, with multiple, densely packed rosettes of thick, succulent, bluish gray-green leaves, this adaptable, shrubby aloe takes the stage wherever it is planted. Native to summer-rainfall southeastern Africa, the torch aloe, as it is often called, also thrives in mild-winter, summer-dry climates. Aloe arborescens Not content to dominate by size alone, in winter this aloe sends forth upright spikes of intensely red or red-orange, tubular flowers that rise two feet above the leaves. A mature plant with dozens of flowering spikes

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14 12, 2021

Jerusalem Sage

2021-12-14T18:29:30-08:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, perennials, subshrubs|Tags: , , |

Although each species has a common name of its own, plants of the genus Phlomis are often called Jerusalem sage whether they hail from Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, or Israel. These are summer-flowering shrubs, subshrubs, or perennials with felted or woolly, sagelike leaves, many with serrated margins and silvery undersides. Whorled clusters of small, usually downward curving, two-lipped flowers are displayed at intervals along upright stems. Flowers are followed by ornamental seedheads that persist through the winter. Phlomis fruticosa (Jerusalem sage) In the garden Jerusalem sages blend well with many other low-water, sun-loving plants, especially the salvias and other

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