Menu

Hotlinks:

Gallery: Back Yards

Add
Med More 2
Olive, European Olive
Century Plant, Maguey
Dusty Miller, Silver Groundsel
Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum
Tom Thumb Dwarf Flax
Jacaranda
Dymondia, Rock Ditty
Potato Vine
Red Ironbark, Pink Ironbark
Bush or Dome Euphorbia
Stalked Aeonium
Olive, European Olive

Common name:Olive, European Olive
Botanical name:Olea europaea

This broad tree will grow to 40' tall and has small, gray green leaves with fleshy black fruit that appears in fall.

Century Plant, Maguey

Common name:Century Plant, Maguey
Botanical name:Agave americana

This plant is fast growing to about 6'-10' tall and 8'-13' wide. Wide gray leaves have stiff terminal spines and recurved teeth on margins. It prefers full sun and well-drained situations. After blooming, which could take several years, it will die but will send up new pups from around the base. Some people are allergic to the sap. Removal is difficult if unwanted.

Dusty Miller, Silver Groundsel

Common name:Dusty Miller, Silver Groundsel
Botanical name:Senecio cineraria

The Dusty Miller exhibits growth to 1' or more, with velvet gray leaves that have broad, roundish lobes. Yellow flower heads appear through the middle of the plant during most months of the year. Cut heads back occasionally to encourage bushiness.

Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum

Common name:Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum
Botanical name:Pittosporum tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf'

This handsome dwarf form of the Pittosporum tobira grows into a low, dense mound that is covered with glossy, evergreen foliage.

Tom Thumb Dwarf Flax

Common name:Tom Thumb Dwarf Flax
Botanical name:Phormium 'Tom Thumb'

Tom Thumb Flax is an excellent accent plant for the garden. Evergreen leaves are long, narrow, and grow upright. Clusters of flowers grow on spikes above the foliage in late spring and summer. 'Tom Thumb' is the greenest variety, with very narrow, red bronze edges on the leaves. Leaves are small, and plant grows to 18" tall.

Jacaranda

Common name:Jacaranda
Botanical name:Jacaranda mimosifolia

This irregular to rounded deciduous tree will reach about 40' tall and has fine, compound green leaves with blue flowers. Jacaranda's main blooming season is in spring and summer, but it will often produce sporadic blooms in fall as well.

Dymondia, Rock Ditty

Common name:Dymondia, Rock Ditty
Botanical name:Dymondia margaretae

This foliage is gray/green/silvery; it is a very dense, mat forming groundcover. It tolerates drought, cold, salt spray and poor soils. It's deep rooted and produces small, inconspicuous yellow flowers. Rock Ditty is great for use in between stepping stones or pavers.

Potato Vine

Common name:Potato Vine
Botanical name:Solanum laxum

This twisting vine will grow 25' in length and has deciduous, glossy green leaves with blue and white flowers that are in constant bloom.

Red Ironbark, Pink Ironbark

Common name:Red Ironbark, Pink Ironbark
Botanical name:Eucalyptus sideroxylon

This evergreen tree may reach a height of 60'-75'. It has slender, lance-shaped leaves found on somewhat pendulous branches. The bark is a deep red-brown color. In the winter, the leaves turn a reddish-pink color. Flowers are red to pink. This tree needs full sun.

Bush or Dome Euphorbia

Common name:Bush or Dome Euphorbia
Botanical name:Euphorbia characias

This perennial will reach about 4' tall and has blue green leaves with bright green flowers that bloom from late winter to early spring.

Stalked Aeonium

Common name:Stalked Aeonium
Botanical name:Aeonium undulatum

Stalked Aeonium is an unbranched shrub, with somewhat metallic-green, 10" long, spoon shaped leaves. The leaves form large rosettes on stems 2'-3' tall. Flowers are dark yellow; plant rarely blooms. Water regularly in summer.

Designer: Gabriela Yasiz

Med More 2
Image: 2 of 37

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.

Integrated Pest Management:

Remove irrigation water and fertilizer from areas where you don't want weeds to grow.