nora harlow|shrubs

In our continual search for new and unusual plants for our gardens we tend to forget, or to reflexively dismiss, the old, reliable standbys. Rosemary needs no care, has no "down" season, and can last for decades. It is quite content to play a supporting role in any garden scheme and it comes in varied heights and habits. Salvia rosmarinus Prostratus Group cascades over walls There are prostrate or cascading rosemaries as well as upright forms of many sizes. Flower color varies from pale or bright blue to pinkish lavender or even almost white. The fine-textured, intensely fragrant,

Mahonia aquifolium 'Golden Abundance' There are many lists for planting under trees, especially native oaks. I don’t plant anything under native oaks.  I think they need the root space, and the fallen leaves themselves are beauty enough for me. But there are many other shaded situations that call out for groundcover. Mahonias (sometimes called Oregon grape) are bold-textured evergreen shrubs or mounding groundcovers for part sun to almost full shade.  Many are native to California, especially northwestern parts of the state. I’ve seen mahonias growing well in highly cultivated, over-irrigated landscapes, but most look best in untended or

Echium candicans (aka. E. fastuosum) (Pride of Madeira) flowering along dirt path in summer-dry waterwise garden At its most luxuriant in mid to late spring is Echium candicans.  Hailing from Madeira and the Canary Islands, this magnificent plant has spread into wildlands and untended landscapes in some coastal California areas and is sometimes mistaken for a native. Big, bold, and fast-growing, this ultimately massive shrub can overwhelm a small urban backyard at maturity, but if you’ve got the space and appreciate vegetative drama, this is a plant worth considering. E. candicans grows quickly to six or eight feet