If  you have been dreaming of a white Christmas and the lack of snowfall in your climate has been getting you down, I have a duo of plants to help quell the need for snow.

Salvia argentea "Silver Sage"	Verbascum bombyciferum 'Arctic Summer'

Although they are lovely all year long, I think their soft, wooly white leaves lend themselves particularly well to dressing up a garden for the holidays. And they look so fetchingly dramatic when planted en masse. You can’t roll them up into snowballs or build snowmen out of them, but they do conjure Winter cheer. If you plant them now they should be showy for the Holidays and even better in Spring, when their fuzzy leaves are a lovely compliment to just about anything.

Salvia argentea
"Silver Sage"

Salvia argentea is a tactile and visual treat, forming a huge rosette of leaves – up to 3’ across – in its first year. The leaves are broad and covered with soft “wool.” They look great in the ground or as large potted specimens. Definitely the abominable snowman of Salvias! The second year it sends up a tall flowering candelabra – a fluffy, fuzzy candelabra – peppered with flowers that range in color from pink to white. The more room you give it to spread laterally the better! Bait for snails.

Sun/Pt.Sun     Avg water     Biennial/Perennial
USDA Zones 5-9

Verbascum bombyciferum
'Arctic Summer'

A plant that begs to be snuggled! Perfectly touchable, downy white leaves that grow to gigantic proportions form huge rosettes in the garden. This plant can span an impressive 3 feet and works well in low water situations. In the Summer of the second year it sends up a long tall stalk with lemon yellow flowers that look quite striking against the fuzzy white stems! Reseeds!

Sun     Low/Avg Water     Biennial
USDA Zones 4-9

Photo from UC Botanical Garden

Hibiscus splendens
"Pink Hollyhock Tree"

The Queen of the Hibiscus tribe! We are the only nursery in the universe to offer this RARE, exclusive & “splended” shrub Hibiscus species from Australia. It has girly flower floozy goodness written all over it. Its flowers are a gynormous 6” across, red centered with bubble gum pink flowers. It’s from Australia where it weathers drought very well and stays evergreen, although it is only marginally frost hardy (to 26 degrees F). It grows upwards of 6’ - reaching 20’ in the wild - but smaller in cultivation. The specimens I’ve seen are nice, well-mannered rounded plants with silvery leaves but the choice aspect of the plant is really the gorgeous and super-girly blooms. Va-va-voom!

Sun/Pt.Sun     Avg/Low Water     Perennial/Shrub
USDA Zones 9b-11