Tag Archives: perennial

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 …

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 …

New to our Sunnyvale garden for 2020 are Seaside Daisies (Erigeron glaucus). Also known as beach aster or beach daisy, seaside daisy plants are flowering California native perennial that grow wild along the Pacific Coast, from Southern California north to Oregon and Washington. This tough little plant is found in rugged environments such as coastal scrub and sand dunes. Seaside …

Voodoo lily plants are perennials known for their unusual foliage;  gigantic size of the flower; and the stink of that flower. The flowers produce a strong, offensive odor similar to that or rotting meat. The smell attracts the flies that pollinate the flowers. The blossom only lasts a day or two. They are native to warm subtropical-to-tropical areas of eastern …

Orange Bush Sticky Monkey Flower (Diplaucus aurantiacus) are named for their funny-face-flowers that look like grinning Monkeys. These California native gets its common name from its long and narrow leaves with surfaces coated in a sticky resin. It is a delightful small evergreen shrub growing 2-4 ft. tall that becomes totally covered with colorful tubular orange flowers. This wide ranging …

Spring in our Sunnyvale garden always has tulips. The majority are the Dutch cultivars and hybrids: Usually large, showy and brightly colored, generally red, pink, yellow, or white. But in the last few years we have included Wild Tulips which are the predecessor species. Tulips originally were found in a band stretching from Southern Europe to Central Asia, but since …

New for 2020 in our Sunnyvale garden is Alyogyne hakeifolia, an Australian desert shrub with hibiscus-like flowers and needle-like leaves. I purchased it from Yamagami Nursery. I am growing it in a 7 gallon pot. A.hakeifolia is normally an upright, much-branched, rapidly growing small to medium shrub reaching to 3 m (10′). The leaves are dark green, glabrous, comprised of …

Salvia ‘Amistad’ (Sage) is a bushy, upright perennial with large, rich royal purple flowers adorned with nearly black calyces. Blooming constantly from early summer until frost, the flowers are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds. They rise well above the aromatic foliage of glossy, bright green, slender leaves, which remain evergreen in frost free locations. Recipient of the Award of …

Expand your geranium horizons with the cool-season member of the family: Martha Washington geranium (Pelargonium x domesticum). Also known as regal geraniums, this group of geraniums features richly colored blooms with petals that resemble velvet. Petals have a lovely ruffled effect that enhances the plants’ luxurious feel. The edges are often toothed, and leaves release a citrus fragrance when crushed. The …