Muhly grasses offer fine foliage textures and stunning flower inflorescences. One cultivar, M. c. ‘Regal Mist’ has become the choice for residential gardens and commercial landscape due to its reliable yearly flowering performance. This cultivar has foliage that matures around 2 ft. tall and 4 ft. wide and produces a profusion of pink-rose flower panicles […]
The Small cape rush from South Africa is a relatively new plant to landscapes and gardens in the Inland Empire. It is a robust clumping perennial noted for its thin jointed stems that can grow 3-4 ft tall. Female plants produce summer seed heads that add seasonal interest at the ends of the stems. Branching
Please note: For most situations, we would not recommend installing this plant in new gardens, landscapes, or plantings in southern California. It has long been used in gardens as a plant to provide nectar for butterflies, but gardeners in southern California have many better choices of native plants that are more attractive though more
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Buffalo grass has come to our attention in recent years during our search for low water needy lawns. In this regard, warm season grasses that grow with underground stolons have proven to meet our low watering needs. However, since all warm season grasses go dormant from late fall through winter, the rich summer green upper
The California sagebrush grows into a small to medium size shrub, 3-5 ft. tall, 5-7 ft. wide and is mostly comprised of soft herbaceous stems and foliage. Gray-green leaves are finely divided into linear segments and are highly aromatic when crushed. It’s sage-like scent lingers in the air and on clothing when the plant is
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Purple three-awn deserves more attention than it gets. This California clumping perennial grass has finely rolled foliage, grows 18-24 in. tall and produces colorful purple flowers and seed inflorescences that grow throughout the summer. The seed stage is when it’s most colorful. Foliage and flowers fade and decline during fall transition into dormancy; little trimming
The Pacific Mist manzanita is a low growing shrub that develops a rambling and spreading habit comprised of twisting and arching branches, maturing to 2-3 ft. tall and spreading 6-10 ft. wide. Evergreen foliage is distinctively gray-green; 1-2 in. long leaves are pointed and attached to purple-red stems. Small clusters of white flowers develop sporadically
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Please note: For most situations, we would not recommend installing this plant in new gardens, landscapes, or plantings in southern California. Our top recommendations to consider instead of this plant include pink-flowering sumac, island bush poppy, Sunset manzanita, and Concha ceanothus. This plant profile is included in this site as a reference for two primary
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Achillea ‘Moonshine’ is a robust and colorful perennial yarrow that grows to 2 ft. tall and 2-3 ft. wide. It produces bright yellow flower heads from mid spring into summer that contrast nicely against gray-green feather shaped foliage. Flowers are used in both fresh and dried floral arrangements; butterflies are attracted to their nectar. This
The Purple prickly pear cactus is a colorful species with rich plum-purple coloring on young pads. Over time it can grow 4-5 ft. tall, 4-5 ft. wide. Short bristle-like spines cover pads and fruit; bright yellow flowers contrast boldly against its purple pads from later winter into spring. Purple prickly pear provides more foliage color
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