Rhaphiolepis

Callistemon, or bottlebrush, is a well-known shrub.  It is loved by hummingbirds and bees.  The most commonly grown species is C. citrinus, a fast grower to ten to fifteen feet tall and wide.  An excellent dwarf variety is C. viminalis ‘Little John’ which grows about three by three feet and sports intense red flowers.  All Callistemon like…

Laurus nobilis, or sweet bay, is the bay leaf used in cooking.  It is a handsome evergreen shrub that grows anywhere from twelve to forty feet, but in our climate, usually stays in the twelve to fifteen foot range.  Yellow flowers appear in spring.  It  can take full sun or partial shade and needs moderate…

Helianthemum is a great low growing evergreen shrub.  It only gets about six inches tall and spreads two to three feet.  Flowers can be white, yellow, pink, orange or red.  The biggest flower show occurs in late spring or early summer, but further flowering can be encouraged by shearing off the spent flowers.  Full sun,…

The Cotoneasters listed here are all evergreen and require little to moderate water.  They have small white flowers in spring and red berries in autumn and winter.  The most common groundcover types are ‘Coral Beauty’, ‘Lowfast’ and ‘Streib’s Findling’, all of which will get about ten feet wide and do well in sun or partial shade. …

Euonymus j. microphyllus, or box-leaf euonymus, is a slow growing evergreen shrub that grows to only one to two feet tall and about half as wide.  It is frequently used as a hedging plant.  It prefers full sun and moderate to regular water.

Teucrium ( germander) is a genus with some very different looking species.  Teucrium cossonii majoricum is a low growing groundcover with grey foliage and whorls of mauvey purple flowers that smell like honey.  T. x lucidrys (formerly T. chamaedrys) has dark green, toothed leaves with pink flowers.  It grows to about one by two feet.  T….