Tag Archives: red

New to our Sunnyvale garden in 2019 is Grevillea lanigera – A low, dense ground cover/shrub to grows to 2 feet tall and 4 feet wide with small, narrow gray-green foliage that is soft and woolly. I have planted ours in a tall container with the hope that the long branches will hang. The cream and pink flower clusters form …

Red Fountain Grass dazzles with 10-inch bottlebrush plumes emerging burgundy-red in mid-to-late summer. Plumes shift a golden hue in fall and remain in place throughout winter. Flowing, ribbon-like grass blades adds texture and motion. ‘Red Head’ stands apart as one of the earliest-flowering fountain grasses. An excellent cut flower, fresh or dried. Plant in full sun and water sparingly to …

Cotyledon is a genus of 10 species of perennial shrubby leaf and stem succulents with numerous varieties and cultivars. Mostly from Southern Africa, they also occur throughout the drier parts of Africa as far north as the Arabian peninsula. This particular cotyledon is growing in a succulent sampler pot only 4 inches deep. Members of the genus are shrublets, generally …

Crocosmia are red-to-orange glad-like flowers for the summer. Crosomia is a South African version of a gladiola. The genus name is derived from the Greek words krokos, meaning “saffron”, and osme, meaning “odor” – from the dried leaves emitting a strong smell like that of saffron (a spice derived from Crocus – another genus belonging to the Iridaceae) – when …

Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, one foot, curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage 1-6 inches long. This year’s crop was planted in our former fire-pit surrounded by cool-weather cyclamen and english daisy. They bloom in April after the crocus, hyacinth, and tulips. Iceland …

Another first in 2017 for our Sunnyvale garden: Sea pink. Armeria maritima, commonly called thrift or sea pink, is a compact, low-growing plant which forms a dense, mounded tuft of stiff, linear, grass-like, dark green leaves (to 4″ tall). Tufts will spread slowly to 8-12″ wide. Tiny, pink to white flowers bloom in mid spring in globular clusters (3/4-1″ wide) …

The stunning, brightly colored unusually shaped blooms of the evergreen trailing plant Lotus berthelotii, commonly called parrot’s beak, brings a tropical feel to your garden or landscape. Native to the Canary and Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa, Parrot’s beak is a sun-loving perennial that can be grown as an annual in areas below U.S. Department of …

Spikes of deep maroon bells create an intriguing focal point in the spring garden. The tall stems are clothed with gray-green leaves, which are attractive in their own right. The Persian fritillary usually requires a season or two to establish itself. There are about 100 to 130 species of bulbous plants in the family Liliaceae, native to temperate regions of …

Freesia is a fragrant pretty spring corm that naturalizes so it comes back year after year. I plant them at the bases of the fruit trees and in containers to provide some of the first blooms and scents of spring.

The Watsonia spires and Spanish Lavender are ready for dawn