You can’t get any easier to grow than Linaria purpurea. Slender spikes of tiny violet-blue snapdragon-like flowers over narrow, whorled, blue-grey leaves light up many an old garden. Blooms all Summer in full sun or part shade. Fairly drought tolerant once established & it reseeds! To 3’ high & 1’ wide, it looks good in groupings. Native to southeastern Europe.
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The Gilia genus contains mostly desert-loving plants, native to the area stretching from the western United States to South America. Spanish botanists Hipólito Ruiz and José Antonio Pavón found the first known Gilia species on their expedition to South America, later detailing it among other species in a 1794 publication of their research from Peru and Chile. They gave this …
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Native to Mexico and the West Indies, angelonia (sometimes also called summer snapdragon) is an upright, glabrous, somewhat bushy, tropical perennial that is noted for its long summer bloom of small snapdragon-like flowers. Plants typically grow 12-18” tall. Stems are clad with narrow, oblong to lanceolate, green leaves (to 3” long) with toothed margins. Foliage is slightly aromatic. Bluish-purple flowers …
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Pepino Dulce produces fruit that are the size of a large goose egg with a cream-colored rind that usually has beautiful purple stripes. I will give you time to look up the size of a goose egg. It has a sweet, mild flesh that is somewhat melon-like. Used fresh in salads or cooked. Beautiful, glossy ornamental plants require a very long …
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Rose Verbena, Purple Verbena, Homestead Verbena, Glandularia canadensis Family: Verbenaceae (ver-be-NAY-see-ee) (Info) Genus: Glandularia (glan-doo-LAIR-ee-uh) (Info) Species: canadensis (ka-na-DEN-sis) (Info) Cultivar: ? Synonym:Glandularia drummondii Synonym:Glandularia lambertii Synonym:Verbena canadensis Synonym:Verbena lambertii Synonym:Verbena x ? Category: Perennials Height: 6-12 in. (15-30 cm) Spacing: 6-9 in. (15-22 cm) 18-24 in. (45-60 cm) 24-36 in. (60-90 cm) 36-48 in. (90-120 cm) …
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Chives are an easy addition to the Sunnyvale garden. It’s great to cut a few stalks with scissors and add them to your baked potatoes or other dishes. You can add them to herb boxes, pots, or in the ground. They are perennials (with adequate care).
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Long-blooming, scented, drought tolerant & snail & deer resistant, this flamboyant annual from North Africa self-sows too! What more could you want? Butterflies? Yes, butterflies adore it, too! Gobs of bright little scarlet & gold bi-colored “snapdragon” blooms are displayed for months above soft ferny foliage. Cut back after it’s finished blooming & it’ll rebloom quickly & vigorously. To 12” …
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Lavandula stoechas is also known as Spanish or French Lavender. It smells good and attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Like other lavenders, it is associated with hot, dry, sunny conditions in alkaline soils. Spanish Lavender is more fragile than common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), as it is less winter hardy; but harsher and more resinous in its oils.
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Stock offers a wonderfully spicy, distinctive scent. In Sunnyvale, plant it in spring as earlier as February — this annual thrives in cool temperatures and stops blooming once hot weather arrives. It’s especially wonderful in window boxes and planters at nose level, where its sometimes subtle effect can best be appreciated. Stock is slightly spirelike and comes in a wide …
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Okay. I bought this plant because of its name. There were no photos of the flowers; the plant was not yet in bloom. I just loved the 1980s BBC four-year series starring Rowan Atkinson (as Edmund Blackadder) and Tony Robinson (as Baldrick). When the plant finally bloomed last week, I was pleasantly surprised by its purple flower stalk. But, as …
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