(Canary Island's Wallflower)

Little known but deserving notice for its beauty and drought resistance, this low evergreen shrub from the mountains of the Canary Islands makes a fine plant for dryland gardens. Bushy clumps of narrow lance shaped blue green leaves give rise to numerous spires of beautiful rose-pink flowers in late winter and early spring. The flowers have a mild sweet fragrance.

This sun-loving plant grows best in well drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil. It is surprisingly cold hardy if given protection...

(Cherokee Bean, Coral Bean, Coral Tree, Red Cardinal)

Uniquely shaped blue-green foliage and brilliant red spikes of tubular summer flowers make red cardinal a garden conversation piece! A semi-herbaceous perennial that grows from a woody root, it can be nearly evergreen in frost-free regions and deciduous in the coldest areas of its hardiness. It is native to the seasonally dry pine forests of the southeastern United States and extreme northeastern Mexico.

The compound leaves of red cardinal are made up of three bright blue-green, club-shaped...

(Fireman's Cap, Shrub Coral Tree)

In late spring or summer the fiery scarlet-red flower spikes of fireman's cap emerge above the foliage and thorny stems. A deciduous shrub or small tree, it is a hybrid between the cry-baby tree (Erythrina crista-galli) and Cherokee bean (E. herbacea). The original cross occurred in the 1840s at Camden Park just outside of Adelaide, Australia. Fireman's cap becomes an open, sparse tree with upright to arching branches. At the coldest end of its hardiness, where winters have subfreezing...

(Pink Fawn Lily, Revolute Troutlily, Western Troutlily)

An elegant hardy perennial found in moist woodlands from southern British Columbia to northern California, pink fawn lily is grown for its exquisite spring flowers and its dramatically marked foliage. Nodding from wiry, naked stems above paired basal leaves, the pale- to deep-pink flowers have six backswept segments that give them the appearance of taking flight. The yellow-centered blooms are borne one to three per stem. A starburst of yellow anthers protrudes from the gaping blooms. The broadly...

(Apple Blossom Escallonia, Escallonia)

Bearing masses of pretty flowers over a long season, this medium-sized, dense evergreen shrub makes a handsome four-season ornamental for gardens with relatively mild winters. A hybrid dating from the early twentieth century, it has upright, sometimes sprawling branches set with small, narrowly oval, glossy dark green leaves. Plants may sucker modestly from the base. Opening from pink buds, the clustered soft-pink and white flowers appear in abundance in late spring and more sparingly through much...

(Dwarf Red Redclaws, Escallonia)

Bearing masses of pretty flowers over a long season, this dense, small to medium-sized, evergreen shrub makes a handsome four-season ornamental for gardens with relatively mild winters. A hybrid that traces its ancestry to species from South America, it has erect branches set with small, narrowly oval, glossy dark green leaves. Clusters of small, five-lobed, rosy-red flowers are borne in abundance in late spring and more sparingly through much of summer.

This sun-loving shrub prefers well-drained,...

(Eschscholzia)

(Tufted Poppy)

Tufted poppy is a California native annual that is well-adapted to garden and container use. Bright yellow cup-shaped flowers rise above delicate, gray-green, finely dissected foliage in summer. The numerous four-petal blossoms release a light scent.

Tufted poppy likes sun and poor, well-drained soil and withstands very dry conditions. Challenges to success of this pretty perennial are excessive moisture that can lead to fungal and rot problems. If well-sited it will reseed and may return year...

(Sundew Poppy, Tufted Poppy)

Sundew poppy is a California native annual that is well-adapted to garden and container use. Scented lemon-yellow cup-shaped flowers rise above delicate gray-green finely dissected foliage in summer.

Sundew poppy likes sun and poor, well-drained soil and withstands very dry conditions. Providing strategic watering in summer will prolong flowering but be aware that excessive moisture leads to fungal problems and numerous types of rot. If well-sited it will reseed and may return year after year.

(California Poppy)

What would the California landscape be without blankets of golden orange California poppies? These tough wildflower jewels are equally becoming in the garden and there are quite a few interesting cultivars to choose from. California poppy is a variable species native grasslands of California and Oregon, though it has become naturalized in other parts of the country. It may survive as an annual or short-lived perennial and is very easy to grow if given the correct cultural requirements.

The lacy...