Catnip – Nepeta catara Nepeta cataria is a short lived herbaceous perennial, growing 50–100 centimetres (20–39 in) tall and wide. It resembles a typical mint family member in appearance by having the characteristic square stem that members of the Lamiaceae plant family have, but with brown-green foliage. The coarse-toothed leaves are triangular to ovate. The small bilabiate flowers can be white and finely spotted with pale purple or pink. …

The “Sunshine Blue” highbush blueberry is a semi-dwarf evergreen blueberry featuring a highly branched compact habit to 3 feet tall. The showy hot pink flowers fade to white in spring, yielding large crops of medium sized, delicious blueberries with a unique tangy flavour for up to 9 weeks in the summer. Sunshine Blue tolerates higher pH soils better than other …

Bacopa. Sutera cordata. They are annual or perennial, decumbent or erect stemmed plants. The leaves are opposite or whorled,sessile. Leaf blade regular, round to linear, venation palmate or pinnate. Stems hairy or smooth. The flowers are produced solitary or in pairs from leaf axil, usually radially symmetrical, sepals 5, petals 5, usually white, blue or purple in color. Dispersal and propagation is by seeds and stem fragments. Crushed leaves have a distinctive ‘lemon’ scent.

Gala have a mild and sweet flavor. Gala apples ranked at number 2 in 2006 on the US Apple Association’s list of most popular apples, after Red Delicious and before Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji (in order). For small Sunnyvale gardens I would recommend a dwarf variety. I got my tree from Four Winds Growers. I have it growing …

The sultana is a “white” (pale green), oval seedless grape variety also called the sultanina, Thompson Seedless (United States), Lady de Coverly (England), and oval-fruited Kishmish (Turkey, Palestine). It is assumed to originate from the Asian part of the Ottoman Empire. In some countries, especially Commonwealth countries, it is also the name given to the raisin made from it or …

An easy-to-grow perennial, geranium is often used in borders, rock gardens, and as a ground cover. Another common name is cranesbill.

The tangerine (Citrus tangerina) is an orange-colored citrus fruit that is closely related to the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata). Tangerines are smaller than common oranges, and are usually easier to peel and to split into segments. The taste is considered less sour, as well as sweeter and stronger, than that of an orange.   A ripe tangerine is firm to …

Pansies have  colors and bicolors including yellow, gold, orange, purple, violet, red, white, and even near-black (very dark purple). Pansies typically display large showy face markings. Plants grow well in sunny or partially sunny positions in well-draining soils. Pansies are perennial, but normally grown as biennials or annuals because of their leggy growth. The first year plant produces greenery, and …

Nemesia  is a genus of annuals, perennials and sub-shrubs which are native to sandy coasts or disturbed ground in South Africa. Numerous hybrids have been selected, and the annual cultivars are popular with gardeners as bedding plants. In temperate regions the annual cultivars are usually treated as half-hardy bedding plants, sown from seed in heat and planted out after all …

The snow pea (Pisum sativum var. saccharatum) is a variety of pea eaten whole in its pod while still unripe. The name mangetout (French for “eat all”) can apply both to snow peas and to snap peas. In our Sunnyvale garden, USDA zone 8-9, snow peas are a rainy-season crop. You want to plant early to avoid the warm weather starting in May while balancing the risk of infrequent frosts. …