Using Your Imagination

I started my second area of native plantings today (this will be a long, multi-week process), and I decided to focus on the area in the front on the corner. For now, I'm just putting in the border that will run along the sidewalk.

Since these plants will grow over time, it's necessary to leave a lot of space between them. You'll need to use your imagination to see what it will look like in 2-3 years when these spaces have filled in.

This corner gets full sun, but it was very late afternoon when I took these shots, and so they are almost shaded.


This border will get full sun, and a once-a-week watering after it is established. I'm using three varieties. In the middle and on the ends will be the Margarita BOP Pensetemon (Penstemon heterophyllus) (BOP stands for Back Of the Porch). These are extremely hardy and can survive almost anything, including being walked on.

Here are some shots of the penstemon in the ground:




On either side of the penstemon, I planted canyon silver island snowflake (Eriophyllum nevinii). It will grow to around 3-4 feet across and high, and has beautiful sulfur yellow flowers that turn chocolate brown.



Finally, Kat of Grow Native Nursery near the VA hospital (where I've been buying these plants) suggested that I put a "focal plant" in the middle of the strip, and she suggested pitcher sage (Lepechinia fragrans). I produces 1-2 foot long flower stalks in the spring and summer and the plant can reach a height of 6 feet. The flowers are a deep purple and the leaves and flowers have a strong, fruity fragrance. I've only planted one, but I will buy another one tomorrow to match on the other side.



Behind the penstemon on the corner, I will run a row of Royal Penstemon, but I can't buy that for another week when the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens nursery has its fall plant sale. The area behind that will have a green ground cover in the form of a low-matting manzanita and in the middle I'm going to plant a desert willow.