Flowers

Our Sunnyvale garden has many drought-tolerant plants such as succulents, lavenders, and salvias. Texas Sage ‘Green Cloud’ is a recent purchase from Yamagami Nursery in West San Jose. Texas Sage (Leucophyllum fruitescens) has many common names, including Texas ranger, Texas rain sage, barometer bush, cenizo, silverleaf, and ash-leaf. The plant is not a sage (Salvia ssp.) but it is native …

With its long chains of pink blossoms, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate is a great addition to a garden. This plant will bloom from mid-summer until fall. It is a favorite cut flower and can be dried and used in floral arrangements. The large, coarse-textured foliage can create a backdrop for other plants. This fast-growing plant can grow to 7 feet tall and can …

Antirrhinum majus ‘Chantilly Bronze’ Lots of flowers with an shifting color palette ( goldens, pinks and oranges to deep red) create STRONG and tall enduring vertical interest in a garden bed or a flower arrangement. The strapping 3′ stems maintain their upright stance, even under a bounty of delicately-scented, long-lasting blooms, from Spring all the way through Autumn. After the …

Oriental lilies are a spectacular and perfumed addition to your summer garden. Growing oriental lily plants is easy with a well-prepared site for bulbs, plenty of sun and good drainage. Some of the most magnificent flowers in the lily family are in this large group of species and cultivars. We originally bought a small bag of bulbs from Yamagami nursery …

Tufted evening primrose (Oenothera caespitosa) is a night bloomer, producing large white flowers that start to open in late afternoon and on into the night. The fragrant blossoms appear to glow in the dark while attracting nighttime pollinators. Once the sun begins to rise, the white blooms fade to a lovely shade of pink that decorates the garden throughout the …

Totally technicolor 2.5” royal blue flowers with flashy star­burst centers bloom like crazy, creating an awesome show for several months in Summer. An easy and fast way to add thrills to your garden! Just imagine coming home to these happy little Morning Glory flowers along your front sidewalk or in a pot near your front steps. Instant mood enhancement! Wonderful …

Gaillardia, or Blanket Flower, is an easy to grow, short-lived perennial with richly colored, daisy-like flowers. There are over two dozen species of Gaillardia and most are native to some area of North America. Gaillardia pulchella, which is native from the southeastern U.S. through to Colorado and south into Mexico, was cross-bred with Gaillardia aristata, a prairie flower, to create …

Floss Flower, Ageratum, has small, fluffy, blue button-like flowers add color all season but especially in the fall. It attracts birds, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It continuously blooms for a long time. No dead heading needed. It is tolerant of heat. It is native to North America. Excellent choice for Sunnyvale gardens.

New to our Sunnyvale garden in 2020 is Isotoma ‘Starshine Blue’ Laurentia. It features showy powder blue star-shaped flowers with lavender overtones rising above the foliage from late spring to early fall. Its attractive deeply cut ferny leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season. Starshine Blue Laurentia is often used as a ‘filler’ in the ‘spiller-thriller-filler’ container combination, …

Alkanet is one of our favorite flowers for late-spring and summer. It is covered with hundreds of deep blue to violet flowers reminiscent of forget-me-nots (Myosotis). It is a magnet for hummingbirds, butterflies, and several types of bees. It is native to the Mediterranean but has been introduced in North America where it has escaped gardens and naturalized in British …