(California Lilac, Santa Barbara Ceanothus, Victoria Wild Lilac, Wild Lilac)

A drought-tolerant hybrid California lilac, 'Victoria' produces lots of alluring blue flowers in early summer. It has dense, evergreen foliage and an appealing bushy habit. Some speculate that this cultivar is synonymous with Ceanothus 'Skylark.'

The glossy, dark green leaves of this selection have deep, conspicuous surface veins. Lots of showy, elongated clusters of sky blue flowers appear in mid to late spring. Butterflies love the beautiful blooms.

For best results, grow 'Victoria'...

(Santa Barbara Ceanothus, Santa Barbara Mountain Lilac, Tickbush)

Santa Barbara mountain lilac is a fantastic spreading broadleaf evergreen shrub native only to California. It bears prolific dark blue flower clusters in mid to late spring. Leaves are very small, wrinkled and dark green.

Santa Barbara mountain lilac grows nicely in sheltered areas in full sun with fertile, well drained soil. Best practices would include reducing water to the plant in the summer months. Use as a groundcover or slope stabilizer. A few choice cultivars are the compact 'Vandenberg'...

(Trompetillo, Trumpet Tree)

Beautifully exotic, hand-like leaves catches the eye of most plant lovers when seeing the trompetillo. An upright, rarely-branching, fast growing, broadleaf evergreen tree, it's native to central Mexico southward into northern South America. Known as a pioneer tree, it quickly germinates and forests cleared areas and vegetates waste areas alongside roads or abandoned lots.

The leaves of this Cecropia are among the easiest to distinguish, as they are large, rounded and deep green, with...

(Snakewood Tree)

Beautifully exotic, hand-like leaves catches the eye of most plant lovers when seeing the trumpet tree. An upright, rarely-branching, fast growing, broadleaf evergreen tree, it's native to the West Indies and northern South America. Known as a pioneer tree, it quickly germinates and forests cleared areas and vegetates waste areas alongside roads or abandoned lots. Its trunk is upright but readily curves (like a snake) to seek out the most light, holding an open canopy of leaves.

The leaves of...

(Snakewood, Trumpet Tree)

Beautifully exotic, hand-like leaves catches the eye of most plant lovers when seeing the trumpet tree. An upright, rarely-branching, fast growing, broadleaf evergreen tree, it's native across the Caribbean Basin: the West Indies and Mexico southward into northern South America. Known as a pioneer tree, it quickly germinates and forests cleared areas and vegetates waste areas alongside roads or abandoned lots. This species' foliage is the primary food source for tree sloths.

The leaves of this...

(Ceiba, Kapok, Silk Cotton Tree)

Impressive in size and muscular in form, kapok has fragrant dull white flowers in late winter that produces pods filled with cottony fibers once used for stuffing lifejackets, furniture and pillows. A massive deciduous tree native to South America, it has been cultivated all across the tropics for so long that often it is misleadingly listed as native to Africa, southern Asia or "pantropical". The smooth gray bark of this monstrous plant puts elephants and the largest of dinosaurs to shame. With...

(Variegated Kapok, Variegated Silk Cotton Tree)

Impressive in size and muscular in form, variegated kapok has fragrant dull white flowers in late winter followed by white and green foliage. A massive deciduous tree native to South America, it has been cultivated all across the tropics for so long that often it is misleadingly listed as native to Africa, southern Asia or "pantropical". With ages the trunk becomes magnificently buttressed.

In late winter and early spring, while the tree is barren of leaves, the green-gray branches bear five-petaled,...

(Southern Sandbur)

Dare to walk though a patch of southern sandspur and be prepared to pluck prickly, annoying seeds from your pants and shoe laces. Believed native to southern North America and the Caribbean, southern sandspur's weedy, invasive tendencies now finds the species growing all over the world, especially in tropical and warm-temperate regions. This annual, fast-growing grass has a fibrous root system and tidy, clumping habit. Its ability to flower and produce seeds in abundance allows it to become a colonizing...

(Dusty Miller)

Mounds of silvery white foliage, stunning in daylight glowing eerily in night gardens, make dusty miller a favorite of gardeners everywhere. This perennial is often grown as an annual and is native to southern Europe mostly Italy.

Botanically known as a sub-shrub, dusty miller will develop a woody base with age. The plants are evergreen and well branched. The leaves alternate each other on the stem. They are extremely variable, most are oblong to oval, much divided and often look like feathers...

(Colchester White Centaurea, Dusty Miller, Silver Centaurea)

Few silver-leaved ornamentals offer the cool, crisp color of ‘Colchester White.’ This favorite foliage plant produces tall mounds of frosty, ferny leaves that look cool in the daylight and glow eerily in the evening. Centaurea cineraria is native to southern Europe where it is adapted to heat and moderate drought. It is a short-lived, shrubby perennial that’s often grown as an annual.

Botanically known as a subshrub, dusty miller develops a woody base with age. ‘Colchester White’ is...