Common name:Bottlebrush Little John
Botanical name:Callistemon X viminalis 'Little John'
The 'Little John' exhibits very dense, compact growth to 3' x 3'. It produces clusters of blood red flowers and grey green foliage. A very regular, almost symmetrical, spiral patten of dense oval leaves is shown along the stems.
Common name:Pineapple Guava, Feijoa
Botanical name:Acca sellowiana
Classified as an evergreen shrub or a small tree, this plant can be pruned to almost any size or shape. Its foliage is grey-green and silvery underneath. White flowers with bright red stamens can be seen, followed by 1"-4" long, oval, edible fruit. Full sun in most areas, but it should get afternoon shade in desert areas. It is drought tolerant once it's established but will show signs of stress if fruit is dropping. Plant in well draining soil.
Common name:Purplish N.Z. Flax
Botanical name:Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum'
Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum' is an evergreen perennial. Big, dramatic plant composed of many swordlike, stiffly vertical leaves (9' long, to 5" wide) in a fan pattern. Leaves are purple red. Flower stems reach high above leaves, bearing cluster of 1"- 2" blossoms in dark red to yellow.
Common name:Shrub Rose
Botanical name:Rosa Shrub varieties
The dark green, heavily veined leaves of this bushy shrub are strong support for the pure white or pink, nearly double flowers it produces. This is a very tolerant, heavily scented plant with an impressive fall color. Also, large hips appear intermittently with this plant.
Common name:Compact Lacy Nandina
Botanical name:Nandina domestica 'Compacta'
The dwarf heavenly bamboo is an evergreen shrub that grows 4'-5' high. It has green and bronze foliage that turns red in the winter. It is resistant to oak root fungus and hardy to 10 degrees F. The dwarf heavenly bamboo is native to CA and is drought tolerant. -Cornflower Farms
Common name:Variegated Tobira
Botanical name:Pittosporum tobira 'Variegata'
This variegated evergreen shrub or small tree has creamy margins on its grey-green leaves. In spring, clusters of small, cream-colored flowers appear with the fragrance of orange blossoms. Variegated Mock Orange is often used to brighten shaded areas.
Common name:Blue Mist
Botanical name:Caryopteris X clandonensis
This 2'x2' mounded shrub with medium grey-green leaves and an open structure is treated as a perennial. Flowers of a sky blue color grow from the axis of the uppermost leaves.
Common name:Chinese Pistache
Botanical name:Pistacia chinensis
The Pistacia chinensis is a deciduous tree with broad, spreading growth to 50' in height. Its leaves have 10-16 leaflets, and the fall coloring arrives in beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. Prune young trees to shape. This tree does not have edible nuts. Female trees have tiny red fruit, turning dark blue. It prefers full sun and deep, infrequent waterings. This is a great street or park tree.
Designer: Susan and Pat Price
Photographer: GardenSoft
Replace turf with groundcovers, trees, and shrubs. If you have areas where no one uses the grass, patches that do not grow well, or a turf area too small to water without runoff, consider replacing the turf with water-efficient landscaping.