Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That – Southern California

picture : Bill Johnson

Overused:‘Little John ’ callistemon

( Callistemon‘Little John ’ )

1. Coral Fountain

Name:Russelia equisetiformis

USDA Hardiness Zones:9 to 11

Size:2 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet all-embracing

precondition : Full sun to fond shade ; well - enfeeble grease

Take the finespun , cascade wispiness of asparagus fern and cover it with cluster of narrow cerise lipstick tubing and you ’ve got coral fountain . This plant originates in Mexico but bet like it might have been brought to earth by extraterrestrials . Coral fountain is a various works , originate in Lord’s Day or shade , in the flat coat or in a pot . It can even be trained on a trellis to bring its delicious flowers into view . The leafage is bright green , so when the plant is not flowering ( which is seldom ) , it still commands aid . Another plus : hummingbird and butterflies obtain it attractive .

Photo : millettephotomedia.com

overdrive : fawn rosemary

( Rosmarinus officinalis‘Prostratus ’ )

2. ‘Western Pink Star’ Australian Fuchsia

Name:Correa albavar.pannosa‘Western Pink Star’

Zones:9 to 11

Size:1 invertebrate foot improbable and 4 to 6 feet across-the-board

face for a toughened , mat - forming , astray - distribute , erosion - controlling plant life to cover a slope ? A cultivar of Australian fuchsia , this woody plant sport small , slightly rough , gray - green leaves year - turn and is cover with pale pink blossom in leap and former summertime . I employ it in tumid bed , where its wide - reaching spread give me good coverage using fewer plants . ‘ Western Pink Star ’ is not grouchy about dirt , but you should avoid extremely alkalic conditions . Drought tolerant , it grows in sun or shade ( but with less intense flowering in tincture ) and answer well to pruning .

overuse : blue-blooded oat grass

( Helictotrichon sempervirens )

3. Cassa Blue®Flax Lily

Name:Dianella caerulea‘DBB03’

Zones:7 to 11

Size:1 to 2 feet marvelous and encompassing

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; deep , well - drained soil

Blue oat sess is a workhorse in many Southern California gardens , but I ’ve been deputize it for this better - looking , awful Aussie . Although the soft , star - shaped , scant blue bloom of Cassa Blue ® flax lily are a spring delicacy — confine on delicate wands above the leafage — it ’s the compendious , grasslike , blue - grey leaves that put this midget accent industrial plant high up on my list of dearie . And when it ’s done blooming , grape - size , lilac - colored berries hang up on into summer . If embed in clay , site it on a slope or on a pitcher to meliorate drain .

Billy Goodnick is a landscape designer in Santa Barbara , California , and the source ofYards : Turn Any Outdoor Space into the Garden of Your Dreams .

Photos , except where noted : Michelle Gervais

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Coral Fountain

Photo: Bill Johnson

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