(Interior Live Oak)

Handsomely and attractively spreading its dark branches, interior live oak casts dense shade from its glossy foliage canopy. This species is a very drought tolerant broadleaf evergreen tree that is far better inland and in the north state than its popular cousin, the coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia. It is fire adapted and quite able to resprout from the root crown after a big burn offering valuable soil holding value for high fire hazard zones in hill country. Over time it's rather...

(Bartram Oak, Burrier Oak)

Variable in the shape of its lobed, oblong leaves, European turkey oak forms entertaining acorns that have a frilly, scaled cap. A rounded but spreading canopied deciduous tree was first described by the American botanist John Bartram as one was growing on his farm. It is occasionally but rarely formed by a natural cross between the willow oak (Quercus phellos)and northern red oak (Quercus rubra) in the eastern United States. Its bark is smooth and ghostly gray.

The glossy...

(Garden Ranunculus, Persian Buttercup)

Introduced to Europe from Turkey in the late sixteenth century and still popular as a garden and florists' plant, this tender tuberous perennial from the eastern Mediterranean produces showy red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, or white blooms on compact stems in late spring and summer. Most cultivated forms bear ruffled pompon-like double flowers. The leaves, which typically emerge very early in the season, are deeply lobed and bluish-green. Plants go dormant after bloom. Several groups of garden...

(Raoulia)

A miniscule groundcover, vegetable sheep has tiny, silvery-gray leaves hugging the soil and yellow summertime flowers so tiny they are usually overlooked. An evergreen perennial, it is native to the mid-elevation to alpine regions of New Zealand's South Island. This is considered a tough plant to grow but magnificent when growing happily.

The leaves are extremely small and medium to dark-green and densely covered in silvery hairs. The foliage texture makes one think this plant is a moss, or a...

(Mexican Hat)

The common name "Mexican hat" aptly describes the sombrero-like blossoms of this perennial from prairies and meadows of central North America. It is often cultivated as an annual or biennial.

This hardy perennial forms dense mounds of lacy, finely lobed, gray-green leaves. Showy blossoms with drooping yellow rays and a long protruding central cone are borne on tall branching stems from early to late summer. The rays of variety pulcherimma are variously stained with purple. The thimble-shaped...

(Mexican Hat)

The common name "Mexican hat" aptly describes the sombrero-like blossoms of this compact seed-grown cultivar of Ratibida columnifera var. pulcherimma. A perennial from prairies and meadows of central North America, Mexican hat is often cultivated as an annual or biennial.

This hardy perennial forms dense mounds of lacy, finely lobed, gray-green leaves. Showy blossoms with drooping, yellow-rimmed, maroon rays and a long protruding central cone are borne on branching, knee-high...

(Pinnate Prairie Coneflower)

Tall and thinly foliaged, pinnate prairie coneflowers becomes royalty in the meadow from summer to fall as it shows off its yellow petaled flowers. An herbaceous perennial native to central North America, it grows in both fertile and rocky, nutrient poor soils.

The tall, lanky plants have sparse, narrow green leaves. Beginning in summer and long-lasting, stem tips bear an egg-shaped cone that is first silvery green as the yellow petals unfurl around it. With age, the petals become brighter golden...

(Palm)

Ravenea is a small genus of palms, all native to Madagascar and the Comoro islands. There are approximately 17-species each with a very different look and habitat preference.

The solitary trunks of Ravenea range from short to tall and thin to stout, and are usually lightly colored, tan or gray, and sometimes swollen at the base. They are topped with dense whorls of feather-like or pinnate leaves, often twisting at the tip and gracefully arching.

Ravenea are...

(Majesty Palm, Miniature Majesty Palm, Sihara Palm)

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(Indian Hawthorn)

The genus Rhaphiolepis comprises approximately 15 species of shrubs and small trees from subtropical and temperate regions of East Asia.

These cold-tender evergreens bear leathery, glossy-green, oval to lance-shaped leaves with toothed or smooth edges. Newly emerged leaves are often red or bronze. Loose clusters of small, five-petaled, unscented or mildly fragrant flowers appear toward the branch tips in late winter, spring, or summer. The star-shaped blooms are pink, white, or red,...