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Lush Planting Beds
Purple Showers Viola
Monarch Blanket Flower
Annual Sweet Pea
Daylily (hybrid selection)
California Fan Palm
Copper King Gazania
Coast Redwood, Redwood
Garden Pansy
Elijah Blue Fescue
Purple Showers Viola

Common name:Purple Showers Viola
Botanical name:Viola cornuta 'Purple Showers'

Purple Showers Viola is an attractive perennial with blue-violet flowers under 2' in height and blooming in winter through spring in mild winter areas and blooming in spring through summer in colder areas. Usually treated as an annual.

Monarch Blanket Flower

Common name:Monarch Blanket Flower
Botanical name:Gaillardia X grandiflora 'Monarch'

Gaillardia gra. 'Monarch' is a perennial. Grows to 2'-4' high, 1.5' wide, with roughish grey-green foliage and single or double mixed red and yellow bicolor blooms 3"-4" across. Exceptionally long bloom. Keep dead-heading and they'll bloom til frost.

Annual Sweet Pea

Common name:Annual Sweet Pea
Botanical name:Lathyrus odoratus

Sweet Pea is a favorite among many gardeners for its wonderful scented flowers. Some cultivars are vines and others are bush or shrub-like. It comes in blue, pink, purple, red or white flowers. They do better in cooler climates; keep roots mulched. Grow in rich, moist soil and provide regular watering especially in the summer. Excellent for cut flowers. These annuals are grown from seed.

Daylily (hybrid selection)

Common name:Daylily (hybrid selection)
Botanical name:Hemerocallis hybrids

These summer-blooming perennials form clumps with large, grass-like leaves. Its showy flowers, resembling lilies, are borne in clusters on stems held well above the foliage. Daylilies can be found in many colors: yellow, orange, red, purple, pink or multi-colored. Hemerocallis does better in well-draining soil and with extra summer water. Hemerocallis are very hardy,with few or none pests/problems.

California Fan Palm

Common name:California Fan Palm
Botanical name:Washingtonia filifera

California Fan Palm is the only palm native to CA. It grows to 60' tall and 20' wide. It has light green fronds 3'-6' long. This palm has a gray trunk, ringed with old frond scars. Mature fronds have curved thorns along the margins. Yellow white flowers appear in spring and summer. It prefers full sun, heat and will become drought tolerant once it's established. It will do better with occasional deep watering.

Copper King Gazania

Common name:Copper King Gazania
Botanical name:Gazania 'Copper King'

This perennial groundcover will grow 6"-10" tall and has soft, greyish-green foliage with yellow-orange flowers that bloom April to September.

Coast Redwood, Redwood

Common name:Coast Redwood, Redwood
Botanical name:Sequoia sempervirens

This fast-growing, aromatic tree has soft, dark green foliage with long needles appearing in flat sprays and brown, barrel-shaped cones that appear after 1 year. Its soft, red-brown bark is fiberous and furrowed. Particularly after mechanical damage, this tree will stump sprout to form new, young trees around the stump. Avoid planting in areas of high foot traffic. Inadequate moisture or a hot, dry site will inhibit its growth.

Garden Pansy

Common name:Garden Pansy
Botanical name:Viola X wittrockiana

This annual will grow 6"-10" tall and 9"-12" wide. It has shiny green leaves with flowers that come in a wide variety of colors and are in constant bloom from fall to spring.

Elijah Blue Fescue

Common name:Elijah Blue Fescue
Botanical name:Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'

The 'Elijah Blue' is a lovely ground cover grass with silver blue foliage that quickly reaches 12" tall and wide. This evergreen grass has golden flowers that bloom in summer. However, 'Elijah Blue' is grown for its foliage. Plant in full sun in coastal areas; in warm inland areas, it should receive afternoon shade to prevent it from turning brown. It is drought tolerant once it's established. It prefers well draining soil.

Designer: Cooperative Extension

Lush Planting Beds

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Incorporate compost 6" into your soil to retain water, reduce compaction, feed earthworms, and provide valuable nutrients to your plants.

Water Saving Tip:

Apply a layer of mulch around plants to reduce moisture loss.

Choose organic mulches, such as shredded bark, compost or aged sawdust.

Integrated Pest Management:

Attract, or buy beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings to control pest outbreaks in your garden.