Mediterranean Style Gardens: CA Natives & Dry Plants
California Native Plants
It is best to remember that we live in a Mediterranean climate, one defined by long dry summers. Many of these plants are California natives, plants that have adapted to thrive in our summer dry Mediterranean-like climate.
Shrubs
Here are a few of the many drought tolerant shrubs. A number of our choices offer a wonderfully silvery cast, leading the way are four lavenders, each with its own character.
Whether it's the classic English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia 'Royal Velvet' "Culinary Lavender"), with its grayish-green 2′ high foliage, Spanish lavender, or the popular hybrids, lavenders are intensely fragrant, very drought tolerant and a magnet for bees.
Or Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal' "French Lavender", lavenders are intensely fragrant, very drought tolerant and a magnet for bees.
Two California natives offer their own charms. California sagebrush (Artemisia californica) forms a dense 3-4′ high bush of silvery foliage. Durable and exuding that unique fragrance, it's perfect for a dry garden bed.
By contrast, A. californica 'Canyon Grey' stays lower, topping out at one foot tall but spreading to four feet wide. Its feathery foliage is a little greener but is equally aromatic. This variety makes a perfect high ground cover for a hillside or for covering a problem area.
Dwarf Coyotebush (Baccharis pilularis 'Pigeon Point'), found growing throughout the dry chapparal slopes of northern California, forms a low dense mound 6-8' wide and 1-3' tall. Ideal for slope stabilization, it is the perfect choice for a slope that doesn't receive much care.
California Lilacs
Dry garden shrubs need not be uninviting. California lilac (Ceanothus) offers many species, each with dazzling purple or blue flowers.
'Julia Phelps' gives other varieties a
run for their money with a cloud of the richest indigo-purple blooms in spring. Gorgeous! To 6-8' H&W, it is also fragrant in and out of bloom.
Meanwhile, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Skylark' has a more compact 4' x 4' habit, making it a good choice for small gardens and large decorative planters.
And for a taller form, the ever-so-popular 'Ray Hartman' is a long blooming 8-10′ tall variety. It is just amazingly floriferous! California lilac varieties are one of best plants for attracting pollinators and songbirds to your garden.
More Splendid Shrubs
Speaking of natives, do you know about our wonderful native Verbena (V. lilacina 'De la Mina')? Exploding into a cloud of rich, lavender-blue flower clusters in spring, this 3'x3′ 'plant & forget' native blooms nearly year-round.
And though it's not a native, the Bay Friendly aromatic shrub Rosemary (R. officinalis) offers all the advantages of a native. Annie's sells 3 varieties, each with its own character. 'Barbeque' is a full-sized shrub (6′) with stiff stems that can be used for BBQ skewers. It has wonderfully fragrant foliage, topped with dancing flames of pale violet flowers.
Bush marigold (Tagetes lemmonii) Many a gardener is familiar with this easy-to-grow, bushy marigold. Smothered in cheerful 2" daisy-like yellow flowers nearly year-round, it also features finely dissected leaves renowned for their citrusy scent.
Low Growers for Summer Dry Gardens
Almost every garden has need of one or more low growing perennials. Fortunately there are a great many utilitarian plants that offer their own beauty.
California Buckwheats
These versatile natives (Eriogonum species) are one of the very best resources for attracting pollinators to your garden.
Start with everyone's favorite – Red Buckwheat (E. grande rubescens). It produces an abundance of grayish-green leaves, silver underneath, then come summer, tall stems of little rosy-pink flowers. Blooming all summer and well into the fall, it immediately attracts bees and butterflies.
Sticky Monkey Flower
No question, there is a big fan club for this California native (Mimulus species). One could make a case that the drought tolerant group of Mimulus selections are the perfect plant.
Start with the classic form M. aurantiacus 'Pt. Molate'. It produces an abundance of creamy orange flowers on plants that are 12-24" tall and a bit wider. This native's common name derives from its sticky stems.
Or how about the fabulous new M. 'Changeling'? We are proud to offer several varieties in the Jelly Bean mimulus series. JB 'Betabel' is a vivid dark red and blooms all summer & fall.
That sentiment is echoed by California fuchsia (Zauschneria). Incredibly drought tolerant and a prolific bloomer, this cascading ground cover is the ultimate 'spilling' plant. Its silvery foliage and coral red flowers (Z. californica), make it ideal for rock gardens and dry garden beds.
Lastly, there are two other low growing plants that fit in nicely with a summer dry garden scheme. Sun Rose (Helianthemum nummularium) is one of those ground covers that deserves to be in everyone's garden. Very low, dense foliage forms a mat with soft pink flowers in 'Belgravia Rose'.
Xeriscape Exceptionals
Xeriscape can be defined as 'needing little or no water' and that is true for this collection of outstanding summer dry denizens. Agaves, aloes and yuccas have long been featured in spectacular 'dry' gardens.
Agaves
Agaves are architectural plants, displaying rigid forms that have a spare beauty.
The elegant A. 'Blue Glow' creates a beautifully symmetrical solitary rosette. Chalky blue in color and edged in red and yellow, it stands out in any design. Hardy to 20-25° F.
For a more dramatic display, consider adding Whale Tongue agave (A. ovatifolia) to your garden. It forms a rounded rosette of short wide leaves that are distinctively cupped. Each shimmering, powdery-turquoise leaf has tiny rigid teeth ringing its perimeter.
Yummy Yuccas
For a spectacular focal point, look no further than Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies.' Extraordinary beauty and bold architectural form make this winter hardy selection a fantastic choice for a dry garden. It develops a thick-textured trunk topped by a spherical head of powder-blue foliage. Hardy to -10 degrees F.
By contrast, Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' offers up bright green leaves, enlivened by a vivid yellow central stripe that turns pink in cold weather! A smaller specimen, 'Color Guard' forms a 2-3' high and 1-2' wide rosette – the perfect size for any garden!
Care
Summer Dry plants, once established, won't need regular water and in fact are better off not connected to any drip irrigation. Occasional deep watering will encourage strong and deep roots. Every plant mentioned above has the ability to thrive with very little summer water. Most require fast draining soil and can do nicely with sandy or rocky soils. Fall is generally the best time to plant.
Availability
Some of the Annie's Annuals plants mentioned here might not be available on the week that you're reading this article. Some varieties are only available in our retail nursery in Richmond CA. A quick look at that plant's page will let you know if it's available.
