Another diverse and useful genus is Salvia. The Clevelandii group includes ‘Allen Chickering’, ‘Whirly Blue’, ‘Pozo Blue’ and ‘Winifred Gilman’. In need of an attractive, drought tolerant ground cover? Try ‘Bee’s Bliss’. This salvia has gray green leaves with lavender flowers in spring; it will spread three to four feet wide or more.
Salvia spathacea (Hummingbird sage) A more herabceous plant, Salvia spathacea spreads by runners and produces dramatic magenta flowers in late spring.
Buckwheats provide color spring and summer. Eriogonum umbellatum (sulphur buckwheat) sports bright yellow flowers in spring. Eriogonum giganteum (St. Catherine’s Lace) is topped with creamy clusters of flower sprays reaching as high as five feet. The star of the genus, Eriogonum grande var. rubescens (rosy buckwheat) displays rosy buttons atop rounded gray-green leaves for most of…
Ceanothus, ‘California wild lilac’, is known for its wonderful spring floral display. Flower colors are either white or shades of purple-blue, while height can range from a foot or two to twenty feet. ‘Ray Hartman’ and ‘Cliff Schmidt’ are among the tallest of the Ceanothus, attaining heights of twelve to twenty feet. ‘Dark Star’ and ‘Concha’ are among the varieties…
Tops on the list of desirable shrubs is Arctostaphylos, commonly called manzanita. Again, there are many choices in this genus. Handsome and tree-like are ‘Dr. Hurd’, ‘Hood Mountain’ and ‘Austin Griffiths’. ‘Sentinel’ is one of the more upright varieties, eventually reaching five to six feet. Medium sized Manzanitas are ‘Howard McMinn,’ ‘Sunset,’ ‘John Dourley’ and ‘Wayside,’…
