(Carolina Mosquito Fern)

Native to much of the eastern half of North America, Carolina mosquito fern is a tiny, feather aquatic fern that floats on the surface of still ponds and lake edges. Populations also extend down into Mexico and Central America. Its tiny fronds are bright green, often with a reddish or purplish-red hue. It's hard to believe this aquatic, floating plant is in fact a miniscule fern. It is free-floating and may be adapted to fresh or brackish water.

Carolina mosquito fern thrives in pools with full...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana ambigua is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of fragrant blue flowers. It is native to sandy habitats in the South and West Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of slender, lance-shaped leaves that are hairy and weakly pleated. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The violet-scented, 2-inch-wide,...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana fragrans is grown for its mid- to late-winter display of sweet-scented blooms. It is native to sandstone slopes and ledges in the West Cape region of South Africa. This species was formerly known as Babiana disticha and Babiana plicata.

This member of the iris family produces low, sparse clumps of hairy, pleated, dagger-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply...

(Baboon Flower)

This appealing South African flowering "bulb" is highly variable producing purple, blue, white or yellow flowers: all with very dark anthers. In its natural habitat, this spring bloomer exists on clay-rich scrubland known as renosterveld. It is a hybrid parent to many cultivated baboon flowers and is less commonly sold as a species bulb.

In midwinter, small fans of pleated bright green leaves are produced from deeply buried, globular corms. The sword-shaped leaves remain in a neat rosette....

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana tubulosa is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of starry, long-tubed white flowers. It is native to sandy habitats in the South and West Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of narrow, hairy, pleated leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The 2-inch-wide (5-cm), unscented, snow-white to creamy-white...

A showy little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana villosa is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of pink or red, unscented blooms. It is native to clay-rich scrublands ("renosterveld") of the West Cape region of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low, sparse clumps of hairy, pleated, sword-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The 2-inch-wide (5-cm), cup-shaped,...

(Centennial Desert Broom, Desert Broom)

This desert-adapted hardy hybrid is a useful shrub for difficult, hot, dry sites. Its parents are the dwarf coyote brush Baccharis pilularis, a native of California and Oregon, and the little known desert broom, B. sarathroides, native to the southwestern United States. A spreading shrub, ‘Centennial’ produces a lush mound of bright green narrow leaves with serrated edges. This is a valuable color in desert regions where most plants bear leaves of muted color or gray. This shrub...

(Coyotebrush, Coyotebush)

In spite of months without rain on the embankments of Los Angeles freeways, this drought-resistant shrub remains green year round. The plant grows as a spreading mound of small, rounded green leaves with serrated edges. It blooms in spring but the flowers are insignificant. They give way to tufted seed pods which mature in fall but many gardeners consider unsightly.

Also known as Dwarf Coyote Bush, this shrub is native to regions of California and Oregon where plants may go for over six months...

(Coyotebrush, Coyotebush, Twin Peaks Coyotebrush)

Counted among the very best of drought-resistant evergreen groundcovers, ‘Twin Peaks’ is a selection of Dwarf Coyote Bush, a native of coastal California and Oregon where plants can go for over six months without rainfall. Though it tolerates drought, ‘Twin Peaks’ can brown and lose leaves in extreme heat. The plants grows as a spreading mound of small, rounded green leaves with serrated edges. Plants bloom in spring but flowers are insignificant and give way to tufted seed pods which mature in fall...

(Blue Water Hyssop, Lemon Bacopa)

This low-growing, spreading aquatic perennial is a water weed found along brackish water edges and wet sands of the southeastern United States from Maryland down to Florida and across to Texas. Its small, succulent, lemon scented leaves create a mat of foliage that becomes dotted with small, violet blue flowers. It creates attractive cover for waterway margins and is commonly half submerged making it an ideal aquarium or pondside plant.

The small leaves of lemon hyssop are oval, lustrous, fleshy...