Common name:Pride Of Madeira
Botanical name:Echium candicans

Mature specimens of this evergren shrub can grow to a size of 6'-8' tall and 8'-10' wide. In the spring, spikes of rosy-violet to blue-purple flowers appear. It should receive sun to part shade, with little or no summer watering when established. This plant can be severely damaged by frost below 25 degrees F. -Monterey Bay Nursery

Common name:Morning Light Silver Grass
Botanical name:Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'

The 'Morning Light' is also a taller variety, growing to 6-8' tall with delicate feathery plumes and very thin graceful leaves. This is a variegated form. It should receive sun to part shade, and average to little summer watering. -Monterey Bay Nursery

Common name:Jerusalem Sage
Botanical name:Phlomis fruticosa

This hardy perennial is a useful, old-time garden plant with coarse, woolly gray/green, wrinkled leaves and yellow, 1" flowers in ball-shaped whorls. It handles drought and poor soils but needs full sun.

Common name:Succulents
Botanical name:Aeonium species

These plants are one of the most useful succulents, due to their decorative effects and sculpturesque quality. The branched stems hold a wide rosetta of either light green or purple leaves. The flowers appear in long, clustered form. They need some shade in hotter areas. Prostrate forms are low-growing, and spreading.

Common name:Mediterranean Tree Mallow
Botanical name:Lavatera maritima

This large, shrubby perennial grows up to 6' and has profuse lavender/pink flowers with maroon highlights. From the Mallow family, the flowers are produced year round and are especially showy in the fall.

Common name:Donkey Tail, Burro Tail
Botanical name:Sedum morganianum

This succulent perennial will grow best in a wall pot or hanging basket due to its long stems. It has light, gray/green leaves that grow over one another to give off a "braided" look. The flowers are pink to deep red and bloom in spring and summer.

Common name:Mother-of-Thyme, Creeping Thyme
Botanical name:Thymus serpyllum

This evergreen groundcover needs full sun to light shade. It grows to 3" tall, forming a dense, thick mat. It needs well-drained, light soil. Creeping Thyme is considered drought tolerant. The foliage is dark green and slightly hairy. It has a pleasant, minty fragrance when crushed, though not considered for culinary uses. Flowers are lilac-purple and bloom in the summer. Attractive to bees and butterflies.

Common name:Brown Sedge
Botanical name:Carex testacea

The testacea variety is an evergreen perennial that reaches 2' tall bearing very narrow, coppery brown leaves splitting to hair-like threads at their tips, and continuing to grow to 4-8' in length. This plant should be grown in sun with little or no summer watering. -Monterey Bay Nursery

Common name:Silver Lace Society Garlic
Botanical name:Tulbaghia violacea 'Silver Lace'

This evergreen perennial has 1-2' stems with white, margined leaves and rosy/lavender/pink flowers that bloom in spring and summer.

Common name:Sea Pink, Common Thrift
Botanical name:Armeria maritima

This clumping, grass-like perennial is native to many areas, including coastal California. Its flowers range from deep rose pink through white. -Monterey Bay Nursery

Sustainable Fertilization

If you mulch heavily as recommended in the compost and mulch fact sheets you should not need traditional fertilization. Sustainable landscapes fertilize themselves as soil organisms break down and recycle the dropped leaves into nutrients.

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