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Spring 2014
Ground
Covers and Smaller Plants
The following plants are perfect for
ground covers and smaller scale planting areas.
Achillea ‘Moonshine’ (Moonshine Yarrow):
Plant
Type: Perennial
Light: Full
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Bloom Season: Summer
Natural Habitat: Garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Borders, cut flowers, hummingbirds
Moonshine yarrow is a hybrid that grows 18” x 24” wide. It is a wonderful garden perennial that
is highly adaptable in its soil and water needs. The distinctive silver-gray foliage is a fine backdrop
for the lemon-yellow flower clusters that keep coming all summer. Makes
excellent cut and dried flowers.
Cut back in the winter to keep the plant tidy.
Achillea
roseum
(Rosy yarrow) & Achillea millefolium
(Common 
yarrow)
Plant Type: Semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Occasional to moderate
Bloom Season: Late spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Many plant communities, especially grasslands below 11,000 feet
Garden Usage: Attracts butterflies, birds, bees for habitat garden, meadow garden, perennial border
Rosy yarrow has feather-like leaves, which are aromatic and soft to the touch. Midsummer blooming perennial with rosy pink flowers in flat heads 5" across. Showy, tough and drought-tolerant. Lacy low-growing foliage. Rosy yarrow requires on a sunny site and modest water for success in most California gardens. It a perennial border, it offers bright spring and summer flowers that serve well in both fresh and dried arrangements. Mixed with other perennials, such as purple needle grass, dune sedge, or blue-eyed grass, it can form the foundation of a meadow garden. Yarrow also makes a good addition to a habitat garden; it foliage provides winter forage for birds, and its spring flowers attract butterflies and bees. It requires little maintenance and deadheading will lengthen the flowering season.
Aquilegia
formosa
(Western columbine):
Plant Type: Semi-evergreen perennial
Light: Sun to shade
Soil: Adaptable; heavy and rich preferred
Water: Moderate to regular
Bloom Season: Spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Moist places in woodlands below 9000 feet
Garden Usage: Mixed borders, shady corners of garden, containers, attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
Western columbine is a long-lived perennial in favorable sites. They are widely grown and appreciated for their brightly colored flowers, rosettes of delicately divided leaves, and ability to attract hummingbirds. The hummingbirds help to pollinate the plant. Western columbine grows easily in most gardens. It requires ample water to thrive, but generally will not survive in soggy or waterlogged soils. Plants may reach 2 to 4 feet in height and are 1 to 2 feet across. Western columbine is a beautiful companion for other partial-shade-loving plants, including coffeeberry, giant chain fern, island alum root, Douglas iris, hummingbird sage, and currants.
Arctostaphylos ‘Emerald Carpet’ (Emerald
Carpet manzanita)
Plant
Type: Groundcover shrub
Light: Partial to full sun
Soil: prefers acid soil
Water: Occasional once established
Bloom Season: Spring
Natural Habitat: Northern coastal, garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Groundcover, borders, hummingbird garden
Emerald Carpet
manzanita, a hybrid between Arctostaphylos uva-ursi and Arctostaphylos
nummularia, is a prostrate groundcover that has shiny dark green leaves,
reddish stems, and tiny clusters of pure white flowers. As its name implies, it is a wonderful
evergreen groundcover.
Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi 'Woods Compact manzanita'
Plant Type: Groundcover shrub
Light: Partial to full sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Occasional once established
Bloom Season: Spring
Natural Habitat: Oregon coast, Garden Hybrid
Garden Usage: Groundcover, borders, hummingbird garden
Wood’s Compact
manzanita is a ground-hugging shrub with branches that form a dense mat of
evergreen foliage. Pink tinged
white flowers are followed by bright red fruit in late summer that persists
through winter. Foliage has red
winter color. This plant will
reach 2 to 3 inches high and 3 to 4 ft wide. Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing
season to establish a deep, extensive root system. As a groundcover, space plants 5 ft apart, (closer for
faster coverage). Control weeds
with mulch until the plants cover the area.
Armeria maritima (Sea Pink or Sea Thrift): 
Plant Type: Perennial
Light: Full
sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water:
Moderate to drought tolerant
Natural Habitat: Coastal and mountain
areas in the Northern Hemisphere.
Garden Usage: Borders,
rock gardens
Sea Pink grows 8” to 10” tall and 12” wide in a mounded shape. It produces pink flowers April through May that make great cut flowers. Plant Armeria Sea Pink in full sun in well drained soil. Sea Pink is not picky about soil type and will perform well in most soils. Armeria maritima is very drought tolerant. An excellent choice for rock gardens. You can divide it in the spring after it is well established. Although Sea Pink is not native to California, it does well in our Mediterranean climate.
Artemesia
californica ‘Montara’ (Montara California sagebrush):
Plant Type: Evergreen subshrub
Light: Sun
Soil: Adaptable, except poorly drained
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Natural Habitat: Coastal scrub and chaparral below 2500 ft, garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Groundcover, fragrant, mass plantings
Montara California sagebrush produces pleasing mounds of fragrant foliage about 2 ft tall and 3 to 5 ft wide. This makes a nice groundcover with its silvery contrasting leaves.
Baccharis pilularis ‘Pigeon Point’ (‘Pigeon Point’ coyote brush):
Plant Type: Evergreen subshrub
Light: Sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Natural Habitat: Garden hybrid
Bloom season: Fall
Garden Usage: groundcover, hillsides
Pigeon Point coyote brush is a cultivar and makes an
excellent groundcover. It
typically grows 2 feet tall and 8 feet wide. It grows rapidly and can be pruned if needed.
Ceanothus
‘Centennial’
Plant
Type: Evergreen groundcover
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable well-drained
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Natural Habitat: Garden hybrid
Bloom Season: Spring
Garden Usage: Groundcover
Ceanothus ‘
Centennial’,a hybrid between Ceanothus foliosus and Ceanothus griseus, is a
low, spreading selection with creeping stems 8 to 12 inches high. Its small round leaves have a wavy,
polished green surface, with cobalt blue flowers concentrated in tight
clusters. Along the coast,
“Centennial’ is best with full sun, but requires some shade inland.
Ceanothus gloriosus (Point Reyes ceanothus):
Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
Light: Sun
to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable:
well-drained preferred
Water: Drought
tolerant to occasional
Natural Habitat: Coastal bluffs
Bloom Season: Spring
Garden Usage: Borders, hillsides, groundcover
Point Reyes ceanothus is typically low growing or
creeping and usually reaches less than 5 feet wide. Lavender blue to blue
flowers are produced in small, short-stalked clusters from early to
midspring. It loves coastal
gardens, but will tolerate interior conditions if some shade and additional water
are provided.
Also available – Ceanothus griseus ‘Bamico’ : Mounding selection to 4’ with a 6’ spread. Similar to ‘Yankee Point’, but not as widespreading and with larger leaves. Flower buds are dark blue with silvery highlights and open into clear blue flowers. Hardy to 15F.
Ceanothus ‘Joyce Coulter’ (Joyce
Coulter wild lilac)
Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable, well-drained
preferred
Water: Drought tolerant to
occasional
Natural
Habitat: Garden
hybrid
Bloom Season: Spring
Garden Usage: Low spreading groundcover,
prunable hedge
This ceanothus hybrid is a low, spreading groundcover growing 2 to 5 ft
tall and can spread to 12 ft or more.
It is very garden friendly and water tolerant. It produces sky blue flowers in 3 to 5 inch heads and blooms
for many weeks. Prune it as a
hedge, or plant it so it can spill over a wall. It doesn’t need summer water near the coast, but supplement
inland gardens with summer water.
Clinopodium
douglasii (Yerba Buena):
Plant
Type: Perennial groundcover
Light: Partial to full shade
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Water regularly
Bloom season: Spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Native to US
Garden Usage: Groundcover in shady areas, aromatic
Yerba Buena (Clinopodium
douglasii), translated “good herb,” is a native plant in the mint family
here in the U.S., with similar mint cousins bearing the same name further down
in the more tropical climes in this hemisphere. In fact, San Francisco was
originally called Yerba Buena (it grew well there) until the name was
changed in the mid-1800s. The plant takes the form of a sprawling, mat-forming
perennial, and is especially abundant close to the coast.
Crassula ‘Pagoda’:
Type of
plant: Cactus and Succulents
Bloom color: Pink, White/Near White
Bloom time of year: Late
Summer/Early Fall
Natural Habitat: South
Africa, garden hybrid
Sun requirements: Full
Sun, Sun to Partial Shade
Height: under 6 in, width 6-12 in
Plant Pagoda in a
pot or directly in the ground.
This unusual plant is striking either way.
Dudleya pulverulenta: (Chalk dudleya)
Plant Type: Succulent
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant to infrequent: avoid watering in summer
Bloom Season: May - July
Natural Habitat: Rocky, clay, or sandy sites in coastal scrub, chaparral, mixed-evergreen forests, and deserts
Garden Usage: Rock garden, rock walls
Succulent with one to two foot basal rosette from which a 1 1/2 ft. spike of vivid red flowers appear in May – July. Native from about Northern San Luis Obispo county south along coast. They grow at best in part shade on rock shelves for good drainage. Plant rosette at angle so water will drain off the crown and you have a good rock garden plant. Try several nestled in the crevices of a rock wall for a dramatic look. The red flowers contrast handsomely with the white stalks. Be sure to leave dry during the summer.
Epilobium
canum canum(California
fuchsia):
Plant Type: Semi-evergreen subshrubs
and herbaceous perennials
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable; well-drained preferred
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Bloom Season: Late summer to fall
Natural Habitat: Sunny dry slopes and rocky areas in many plant communities below 10,000 feet
Garden Usage: Casual informal gardens, slopes, rock gardens, attracts hummingbirds
California fuchsias wait until late summer and fall to produce their abundant blooms. The southern migration of hummingbirds coincides with the start of their blooming period. The plant usually grows 1 to 3 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet wide, but can spread even further. Vigorous and easily grown, California fuchsias are readily used in gardens, but most should be placed with care to avoid overwhelming small or delicate plants. They are stunning when planted on slight slopes among boulders, emerging from stones or gravel in dry streambeds, against rock walls, or in rock gardens. Placed with similarly late-blooming natives, such as Silver Carpet California aster, California buckwheat, or California sunflower, these plants provide spirited color and contrast.
Eriogonum latifolium (Coast or chalk buckwheat):
Plant Type: Perennial groundcover
Light: Sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Bloom Season: Summer to fall
Natural habitat: Coastal bluffs
Garden Usage: Groundcover,
border plant, butterfly and habitat garden
Gray foliage and a low spreading form make this perennial an
attractive small-scale groundcover or border plant. Foliage is topped in summer
with creamy white flowers about an inch across. Easy to grow in most gardens.
This is a local native found on coastal bluffs with Iris, Monkeyflower, Sage,
Seaside Daisy, and Yarrow.
Fragaria chiloensis: (Beach strawberry)
Plant Type: Evergreen herbaceious perennial
Light: Sun to shade
Soil: Adaptable; well-drained preferred
Water: Infrequent to occasional
Natural Habitat: Sand dunes and bluffs in coastal scrub
Garden usage: Shade, groundcover
A vigorous and fast-growing perennial with white flowers,
March-Aug., edible red fruits, good ground cover for sun, garden water, part
shade inland. Combine it with
other dune and sea bluff perennials like seaside daisy or on broad
hillsides. Requires some shade
inland, and can tolerate full sun at the coast.
Hesperoyucca
whipplei
(Yucca):
Plant Type: Evergreen subshrub
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable; well-drained preferred
Water: Drought tolerant
Natural Habitat: Slopes in chaparral and coastal scrub below 8000 feet
Garden Usage: South-facing slopes, boulders, against a wall, beware of sharp-tipped leaves
This yucca, also known as Our Lord’s Candle, is best suited for making a bold statement and is also at home in a diversity of garden styles. It produces a stemless cluster of long, rigid leaves which end in a sharp point. The leaves are gray-green and finely saw-toothed. The stiff leaves and the ultimate size of the plant must be taken into account when placing Our Lord’s Candle in your garden. Eliminate problem weeds well in advance of planting and add a deep gravel or rock mulch around the plant to assist with weed suppression. It is a perfect companion for boulders, or along a wall.
Heterotheca sessiliflora ‘San Bruno Mountain’ (San Bruno Mountain Golden
Aster):
Plant Type: Evergreen herbaceous
perennial
Light: Sun to partial-shade
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant to moderate
Bloom Season: Spring through fall
Natural Habitat: Coastal dunes and headlands in coastal scrub below 1500 feet, garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Groundcover, rock gardens, mixed borders, attracts birds
A 1 – 3 foot wide perennial that makes an excellent groundcover or in a rock garden. Native to much of Calif. up into the mountains. San Bruno Mountain golden aster is the best of the golden asters for California gardens. It produces abundant ½-inch-wide golden yellow flowers from spring through fall. Their massed effect gives this plant its charm. Use San Bruno Mountain golden aster at the front of mixed or perennial borders, in rock gardens, or in sand. It combines well with other small, sun-loving plants, such as David’s Choice sandhill sagebrush, seaside daisy, foothill penstemon, blue-eyed grass, blue witches, and native irises. For best garden appearance, this cultivar requires regular deadheading. Some gardeners leave the mature seedheads to attract birds. You can clean up and rejuvenate the plant in late fall by cutting it back to 2-inch-long stubs with a string trimmer. This plant has no pests or diseases, matures fast and easy to grow.
Heuchera
pilosissima
(Alumroot):
Plant Type: Evergreen perennial
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable; well-drained preferred
Water: Occasional to moderate
Bloom Season: Spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Rocky outcrops and woodlands below 1500 feet
Garden Usage: Under deciduous trees, planted in masses, woodland garden or border
A larger alumroot, forming clumps to 2 feet wide. Sturdy panicles with 16 inch tall with
showy pink-white flowers in late spring.
The leaves are attractive in all seasons. They bloom particularly well when they are located under
deciduous trees, where they receive full sun in winter and partial shade during
hot summer months. They are ideal for a woodland garden and will stand some
drought, but look best with garden conditions.
Heuchera sanguinea ‘Firefly’ (Coral bells):
Plant type: perennial
Light: part sun to
shade
Soil: well-drained
Water: average
Bloom season:
mid-summer
Natural Habitat: Arizona
and New Mexico
Garden usage: Woodland
gardens, shady areas
Heuchera ‘Firefly’ is a perennial that grows 12-18 inches in height with bright red flowers that are held high on long thin wands over the tidy mounds of scalloped foliage. Heavy blooming in well-drained, compost enriched soil, flowering is prolonged by deadheading of faded flowering spikes. Best in part sun and shade in hot climates, but will do well in full sun at higher altitudes with cooler summer weather.
Heuchera sanguinea ‘Ruby Bells’: Coral Bells
Plant type: perennial
Light: part sun to
shade
Soil: well-drained
Water: average
Bloom season:
mid-summer
Natural Habitat: Arizona
and New Mexico
Garden usage: Woodland
gardens, shady areas
Heuchera ‘Ruby Bells’ is a perennial that grows 12-18 inches in height with bright red flowers that are held high on long thin wands over the tidy mounds of scalloped foliage. Heavy blooming in well-drained, compost enriched soil, flowering is prolonged by deadheading of faded flowering spikes. Best in part sun and shade in hot climates, but will do well in full sun at higher altitudes with cooler summer weather.
Lessingia
filaginifolia
‘Silver Carpet’ (Dune aster):
Plant Type: Evergreen herbaceous
perennial
Light: Sun to partial shade
Soil: Adaptable, well-drained preferred
Water: Infrequent to occasional
Bloom Season: Summer to fall
Natural Habitat: Species occurs in coastal scrub, oak woodlands, and grasslands up to 7800 feet throughout much of California
Garden Usage: Attracts butterflies, groundcover, meadow garden, perennial border
Gardeners eager to attract butterflies will want this perennial, which provides food for both larval and adult stages. This plant is lackluster in pots, but once in the ground it becomes an attractive ground-hugging mat 4 to 8 feet wide. The 1-inch-wide daisy-like flowers have a central yellow disk surrounded by petals of lavender-pink. The pastel blossoms and soft leaves are a welcome addition to the perennial border or meadow garden, or used to tone down the warm colors of summer-flowering California fuchsias and goldenrods or to complement other silver, blue, or gray-leaved plants in a cool-color scheme. It makes an effective groundcover in the front of a border or spilling over a wall. Lilac verbena or bright yellow shrubby monkeyflower are pleasing partners. It’s easy to grow and requires only light pruning around the perimeter to help maintain its dense habit.
Penstemon
centranthifolius (Scarlet Bugler):
Plant
Type: Perennial
Light: Full sun
Soil: Good drainage
Water: Drought tolerant
Natural Habitat: Dry open or wooded places, chaparral, oak
woodland
Garden Usage: Rock gardens, attracts hummingbirds
Penstemon centranthifolius is a
one to two foot perennial with a 2-4' spike of one to two inch red flowers in
April-July. Native to dry slopes in the coast ranges and Southern Sierras up to
6500'. Give this Penstemon full sun. Very drought tolerant. Excellent in rock
gardens. Needs good drainage with very little organic matter. Heavily used by
Hummingbirds.
Penstemon
heterophyllus
‘Margarita BOP’:
Plant Type: Evergreen herbaceous perennial
Light: Sun
Soil: Well-drained
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Bloom Season: Spring to fall
Natural Habitat: Dry places in grasslands, chaparral, and woodland forest clearings below 5000 feet
Garden Usage: Rock gardens, foreground of mixed borders, containers
Reliant and garden tolerant, ‘Margarita BOP’ is a hybrid of Penstemon heterophyllus or Foothill penstemon. What set this clone apart is its disease resistance and staying power. It bloom profusely for several months with 1 foot spikes of blue to purple flowers, blooming as early as March and continuing into fall if the plant is pruned occasionally. Margarita BOP penstemon is beautifully combined with native grasses as well as perennials such as Wooly Daisy, monkeyflowers, California poppy, and saffron or red-flowered buckwheat. It also makes a nice container specimen.
Salvia
‘Bee’s Bliss’ (Bee’s Bliss Sage):
Plant
Type: Evergreen groundcover
Light: Sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant
Bloom Period: Spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Fast growing spreading groundcover, attracts
hummingbirds, lavender blue flowers easy to grow.
Bee’s Bliss sage is a garden hybrid that is thought to be a cross of Salvia sonomensis or Salvia clevelandii with Salvia leucophylla that was selected by Roger Raiche at the University of California Botanic Garden and named by Marcia Donahue. The foliage is light gray and reaches 2 feet tall to 6-8 feet wide. This selection is great on hillsides. Don’t water too much in the summer once the plant is established. Attracts hummingbirds and bees, excellent choice for a habitat garden.
Salvia leucophylla ‘Pt. Sal’: (Purple Sage ‘Pt. Sal’)
Plant Type: Semi-evergreen shrub
Light: Sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant to occasional
Bloom Season: Spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Common on dry, open hills and slopes in coastal scrub and chaparral below 2000 feet, garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Groundcover,
mixed borders
Salvia Point Sal is a hybrid of purple sage. It is a gray to silver, drought tolerant ground cover that generally grows 3-4 foot across and 1 to 2 feet tall and lavender flower from May to July. Plant in dry mixed borders, it blends well with almost any color. Lightly prune this long-lived species after it flower to maintain vigor and a pleasing form. The dried stalks look well in flower arrangements and have a pleasing scent.
Salvia
mellifera ‘Terra Seca’ (Black sage ‘Terra Seca’):
Plant Type: Evergreen herbaceous
perennial groundcover
Light: Sun
Soil: Adaptable
Water: Drought tolerant
Bloom Season: Spring to summer
Natural Habitat: Coastal scrub and chaparral, garden hybrid
Garden Usage: Groundcover, rock gardens
‘Terra Seca’ is variety of black sage and grows roughly 2 feet tall by 8 or more feet wide. It makes an excellent ground cover; durable and easy to grow. Its blooms are small stocks with light blue - white flowers.