Plant Profile: Woolly Bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum)
Karen Native to dry slopes of south coast ranges of California and northern Baja, this evergreen shrub is a member of the deadnettle family, Lamiaceae, that also includes mint, rosemary, and…
Plant Profile: Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia)
Native to coastal sage scrub and chaparral of Southern California and Baja, this evergreen shrub or small tree is a member of the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that also includes sumac,…
Genus Erysium (Wallflowers) for the Garden
Often called wallflower or blister-cress, Erysimum is a genus of about 150 species in the mustard family, Brassicaceae, that also includes cabbage, alyssum, and stock. The plants may be annuals,…
Plants for a Plant Zoo: White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Attract ruby-throated hummingbirds, bumblebees and Baltimore checkerspot butterflies by adding a clump of this perennial with its flowers that resemble the head of a turtle peering out of its shell.…
Genus: Sisyrinchium (Blue-Eyed Grass) for the garden
Sisyrinchium is a genus of of about 200 species of annuals and herbaceous perennials native to the New World. The plants are not grasses and are in the iris family,…
Plant Profile: Western Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum)
Native to moist grassy areas and woodlands of California and Oregon west of the Sierra Nevada, this semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial is not a true grass but is in the iris…
Plants for a Plant Zoo: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Native Americans smoked it in ceremonial pipes, modern Americans use it for many things from treating urinary tract problems to skin lightening, but bearberry is most valued as an outstanding…
Plant Profile: Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
Also known as scouring rush, this is a herbaceous perennial that bears spores rather than seeds and is more closely related to ferns than to seed bearing or flowering plants.…
Trees for Watersides
A weeping willow tree planted beside a pond inspired Monet’s picture and still holds the attention of the thousands of tourists who visit Monet’s garden at Giverny. Water features can…
Plant Profile: Lambstongue Ragwort (Senecio integerrimus)
Native to grassland, shrublands, and forests of western and central North American this herbaceous biennial or perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow,…