Tag Archives: Summer

Blanket Flower

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 …

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Isotoma Starshine Blue

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, …

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Zinnia ‘Giant Wine’

New for 2019 in our Sunnyvale garden, Zinnia ‘Benary’s Giant Wine’ features rounded, fully double flowers packed with wine-red petals and opening up to 6 inches across. As the flower matures, a circle of small golden stars surrounds its center disk. Resembling dahlias, they are borne on very long sturdy stems. Blooms early summer to frost. We purchased our seedling …

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Calla Lily

Calla lilies are easy to grow and add a classy look to perennial gardens, cutting gardens and container plantings. Their smooth, sword-like foliage stays neat and attractive all season long. Native to South Africa, Calla Lilies (Zantedeschia) provide a spectacular effect with their rich, cheerful colors and their breathtaking chalice-shaped flowers (spathe) surrounding a finger-like stalk (spadix). Calla lily flowers …

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Clematis

A clematis vine climbing up a trellis or spilling flowers over a fence is great for making a curtain of color. Most clematis varieties thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 11 (which is just fine for our Sunnyvale garden (zone 8a)). Proper soil preparation, ongoing maintenance, pest prevention and pruning properly provide the keys to …

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Phlomis fruticosa

New to our Sunnyvale garden in 2018, this Mediterranean native adds texture and summer color to the landscape with minimal care. Whorls of butter-yellow flowers contrast with woolly, silver-grey leaves on a dense shrub-like form. Plant this sun-loving, water-wise perennial as a border accent or mass on a sunny slope for a dramatic effect. Despite its name, it is actually …

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Purple Top Vervain

New to our Sunnyvale garden in 2018 is Purple Top vervain (Verbena bonariensis). It is a low maintenance shrub with pretty purple flowers that attract lots of pollinators: butterflies, bumble bees, commas, honey bees, hummingbird moths, hummingbirds, and more. . We planted it in one of our pots out front which gets full southern exposure. Height: 2 – 4 feet; Width: 1 …

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Tagetes lemmonii ‘Compacta’

Tagetes lemmonii is new to our Sunnyvale garden in 2018. This herbaceous evergreen perennial in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) is native to Arizona and northern Mexico. The highly aromatic, fine textured medium green leaves are arranged on brittle stems. Electric yellow-orange daisy-like flowers provide intense fall color. Tagetes produces many small flower heads in a flat-topped array, each head with …

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Tecoma ‘Sparky’

The Tecoma Sparky is a hybrid plant that was created in 2012 by Arizona State University. This plant was even named after the Arizona State Mascot “Sparky”. It is a variation of the Tecoma plant that is mainly a yellow flower with a red-orange center. Tecoma Sparky is found in the southern regions of the United States, mainly in Arizona, …

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Weed: Nut-sedge

Nutsedge, often referred to as nut grass, is a common weed in landscapes and gardens in the Central Coast valleys, including Sunnyvale. The plant thrives in waterlogged soil and its presence often indicates poor drainage (particularly an issue with clay soils), too frequent irrigation or leaky sprinklers. Once established, nutsedge will tolerate normal irrigation conditions or drought, making it even …

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