Texas Ranger; Brave Bloomer in Hot Dry Gardens for #FloralFriday

This brave plant currently blooming in 100 degree heat is called Texas Ranger or Leucophyllum frutescens. It is also one of the oddest plants I have grown, but more about that later. After a few years of getting established it is really blooming this year. Most Leucophyllums have purple flowers with more of an open Read More…

Friday Floral; My Color Change Crassula Capitella Is Flowering

I just love this succulent plant.  I found it in a little 2 inch pot with no tag in the ‘novelty succulent plant’ heap at the local big box home improvement store. Since then I have been able to spread this plant down around the garden and over the patio in pots. It is named Read More…

Santolina Or Lavender Cotton Tough Drought Tolerant Shrubs With Yellow Flowers

Of all the flowering drought tolerant shrubs I have planted in my garden I count santolina, or Lavender cotton, as one of the best. This is a real tough customer when it comes to being completely drought tolerant in my hot, baking southern California garden. They tolerate full sun and summers that can reach over Read More…

Astounding Amaryllis Flowers Blooming in So California August Heat

Amaryllis belladonna are fascinating flowers. They bloom straight out of the bare ground on tall stalks. Their flowers are large and dramatic, shaped like trumpets about four inches long. They smell wonderful and can perfume a room on a hot summer day. They bloom in late summer or early fall. The leaves are on a Read More…

Pink Roses, Lavender And Yellow Acacia Flowers For #FloralFriday

I am luck, luck, lucky enough to have a few things blooming in my garden right now, so I’m sharing the floral joy to brighten up your Friday.  And two of these flowers are from drought tolerant plants, so take heart my fellow desert dwellers. This is a pretty pink tea rose that grows tall Read More…

Plant Profile: Italian Cypress (Cupressus Sempervirens) For Tall Screens In Dry California Gardens

Italian cypress is a familiar staple in the city, the deep, bluish green trees growing along border lines as tall screens.  They grow up to 60 feet high on single trunks with a thin, round shape.  Plants are generally 1-2 feet wide but mature plants can be much wider.  All cypresses prefer full sun, but Read More…

Plant Profile: Crassula Capitella Another Color Change Plant

Here’s another succulent plant in my collection that changes color. This is Crassula capitella, sometimes called Crassula erosula. This succulent has also been called Red Flames or Campfire Plant. It has bright, lime green leaves with flaming orange red tips. It gets tiny white flowers on upright stalks in early spring. When grown in shade, Read More…