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Tour: Lawn to Garden: Lush and Green Garden

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Baby Redwoods
Crape Myrtle
Mexican Bush Sage
Powis Castle Artemisia
Coast Redwood
Santa Barbara Daisy, Mexican Daisy
Rosea Ice Plant
Crape Myrtle

Common name:Crape Myrtle
Botanical name:Lagerstroemia indica

The new leaves of this species are 2" long, bright green, and tinged with bronze. Some cultivars have spectacular fall color. When it has a bare outline, its rounded seed capsules add interest. Its delicate flowers bloom in 6"-12" long clusters. The flower colors could be shades of red, rose, pink, purple, and white, blooming in summer. It thrives on heat, and new cultivars have been created that resist mildew. This tree prefers full sun and has low watering needs once it's established.

Mexican Bush Sage

Common name:Mexican Bush Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucantha

The Mexican sage is a bushy shrub that grows 3-4 ft. 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

Powis Castle Artemisia

Common name:Powis Castle Artemisia
Botanical name:Artemisia 'Powis Castle'

This mounding shrub reaches 3 ft. high and up to 5ft. wide with fine silver foliage. - Cornflower Farms

Dealing With Drought

More than half of the water used at your home is for outside purposes. Studies show that on average, half of the water used outdoors is wasted. The leading cause of waste is incorrectly set and poorly managed irrigation controllers. The second biggest cause of wastage is broken irrigation equipment that goes undetected. There are a few basic things you can do to make a big difference in your water use.

Click in the green box for more information

Coast Redwood

Common name:Coast Redwood
Botanical name:Sequoia sempervirens

This fast-growing, aromatic tree has soft, dark green foliage with long needles appearing in flat sprays and brown, barrel-shaped cones that appear after 1 year. Its soft, red-brown bark is fiberous and furrowed. Particularly after mechanical damage, this tree will stump sprout to form new, young trees around the stump. Avoid planting in areas of high foot traffic. Redwoods require much more water in the hot eastern sections of the county.

Santa Barbara Daisy, Mexican Daisy

Common name:Santa Barbara Daisy, Mexican Daisy
Botanical name:Erigeron karvinskianus

This low mounding perennial, with fine leaves and white to pinkish daisy-like flowers, is an excellent asset to rock gardens.

Rosea Ice Plant

Common name:Rosea Ice Plant
Botanical name:Drosanthemum floribundum

Durable groundcover well-suited to growing under desert trees and in other partial shade areas. Rosea iceplant will stay under 1' tall and spread to about 3'. Pink-purple blooms will cover this plant from spring to summer.

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Baby Redwoods
Image: 2 of 6

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Practice grass-cycling by leaving short grass clippings on lawns after mowing, so that nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil.

Integrated Pest Management:

Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.