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Swiss Chard

Chard is both edible and ornamental.

Among the cool season vegetables that are now seasonable, this one is too cool. Swiss chard, Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. flavescens is as ornamental as edible. Its richly deep or bronzy green foliage is a splendid backdrop for cool season annuals. The same foliage is edible, either fresh or cooked. Yet, even as a vegetable, it is nicely ornamental.

The wide petioles and leaf veins can be white, yellow, orange, pink or maroon. Although varieties with simple green petioles are more productive, they are less popular. ‘Rhubarb Chard’ and ‘Ruby Chard’ develop deep red petioles and veins. ‘Rainbow Chard’ is a mix of varieties with petioles and veins of various colors. Some have darkly bronzed foliage.

Although a cool season vegetable, Swiss card performs very well for spring and autumn. It only succumbs to summer warmth. In cooler climates, it might succumb to severe frost. Since only external leaves are harvested, it retains its ornamental quality for a long time. Swiss chard like sunny exposure and rich soil. It wants water when winter rain is sparse.

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Rosemary

Various cultivars conform to various forms.

Sprawling ground cover forms of rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, that get only a foot or so deep are the most familiar. Taller upright types that can get to six feet tall can be quite sculptural. There are several shorter shrubby types in between that can be allowed to grow wild or shorn into tight hedges.

All rosemary is densely foliated with small narrow leaves not much more than an inch long. It is used as an herb because it is so aromatic and flavorful. Tiny flowers bloom in various shades of blue through winter and spring, and sometimes again in autumn. Stems that root where they touch the ground can be dug and moved as new plants.

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Wax Begonia

Wax begonia is actually a perennial.

Wax begonia, Begonia X semperflorens–cultorum, exemplifies simplicity. Its floral color is white, pink or red. Its foliage is green, bronze or dark bronze. Each floral color combines with each foliar color for a total of only nine combinations. That must be enough, though. Variants of these nine simple options, including some with fluffier double bloom, are rare.

Wax begonia is most familiar as a common warm season annual. However, it is probably at least as popular as a cool season annual. Actually though, it is a short term perennial. Except for during the coolest winter weather, established specimens may bloom all year. After minor frost damage, most regenerate efficiently. They need only minimal grooming.

Mature wax begonia should not grow any higher or wider than a foot. As bedding plants, they blend together. Individually, they develop densely ovoid form. Flowers are small but abundant. Foliage and stems are succulent, with a waxy sheen. New plants grow easily from cuttings or division. Wax begonia prefers rich medium and very consistent watering. A bit of partial shade should be no problem, but a bit too much can inhibit bloom.

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Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ looks like a big Yucca or a small Agave.

As spectacular as the bloom of Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ is, it is actually not the most desirable feature. Solitary flower spikes grow intimidatingly fast up past second story windows, and spread out several feet wide with small but abundant pale white flowers. They are certainly impressive, but are also the final act for mature plants just before they die.

Fortunately, they take several years to mature, so provide big bright yellowish green variegated foliage for many years. The other good news is that as they die, herds of pups (known as ‘bulbils’) develop and fall from the huge inflorescences. There are far more than enough pups to replace the original plants and to share with all the concerned neighbors who witnesses the crazy bloom.

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ is not quite as tough as unvariegated (green) furcraeas, so it can be damaged both by frost or harsh exposure to sunlight. It is also a bit smaller, staying less than five feet tall (prior to bloom of course) and seven feet wide. Too much watering can cause rot.

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Naked Lady

Naked lady is only rarely white.

From scarcely exposed tops of seemingly dead bulbs, floral stalks unexpectedly appear. Foliage only appears after bloom finishes. This is why Amaryllis belladonna is known as naked lady. It blooms unfoliated. Various varieties of the same species bloom with about the same vivid pink color. White variants are very rare. Floral fragrance is mild but sweet.

Naked lady flowers are about two feet tall on simple brown or green stalks. Fleshy seeds that develop after bloom are viable only while fresh and plump. Foliage begins to appear by later summer, and grows more with autumn rain. It resembles foliage of lily of the Nile, but is more fragile, and shrivels by late spring. Then, bulbs lay dormant through summer.

Naked lady bulbs are impressively resilient, but also quite sensitive. If possible, the best time to relocate them is supposedly between bloom and foliation. However, relocation is likely easiest during complete summer dormancy. Unfortunately, though, such relocation can interfere with subsequent bloom. Naked lady needs full sun exposure to bloom well, but requires no water.

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Aeonium arboreum

Aeonium arboreum will grow about anywhere.

The once traditional Aeonium arboreum, with round, dense rosettes of slightly serrate, olive green leaves has become less popular than its more colorful varieties that have become more available over the years. ‘Atropurpureum’ has rich purplish brown foliage. ‘Zwartkop’ is even darker and stays more compact. Long and sometimes unkempt clusters of tiny yellow flowers that bloom in spring or summer are not much to look at against green foliage, but contrast nicely against dark foliage. Larger plants can get to three feet tall and wide, with foliar rosettes wider than six inches.

Like many succulents, Aeonium arboreum is so easy to propagate from cuttings, that small pieces that need to be pruned from established plants can be plugged into the garden wherever more of the same plants are desired. New cuttings like to be watered until they develop roots. Established plants are a bit happier with occasional watering, but can survive neglect just fine. After all, they are native to similar climates in the Mediterranean and northern Africa.

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Sneezeweed

Sneezeweed typically blooms for late summer.

Contrary to its silly name, sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale, does not cause sneezing. Its flowers produce heavy pollen that relies more on pollinators for dispersion than wind. Its vibrant yellow, orange or red floral color attracts all sorts of bees, butterflies and such. Bloom may begin as early as the middle of summer, or continue as late as early autumn.

Sneezeweed is a perennial like black eyed Susan, but with a somewhat shrubbier form. It can grow three or four feet tall without growing any wider than two or three feet. Foliage has a rather fine texture with lanceolate and somewhat serrate leaves. Individual flowers are about two or three inches wide, and delightfully abundant. They are nice cut flowers.

Sneezeweed may self sow, but some cultivars are not true to type. For them, division is a more reliable method of propagation. ‘Pumilum Magnificum’ provides vivid yellow bloom. ‘Chippersfield Orange’ provides vivid orange and yellow flowers. ‘Kupfersprudel’ blooms with a bit more yellow than orange. ‘Bruno’ blooms with deeply rich ruddy brown flowers. ‘Butterpat’ provides rich golden bloom. Several cultivars are compact.

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Our Lord’s Candle

Our Lord’s candle blooms with very tall floral stalks.

The one or two foot long and nearly inch wide leaves of our Lord’s candle, Yucca whipplei, certainly do not look as painful as they really are. The ridiculously sharp terminal spines can penetrate boot leather and administer a whole new experience of lingering pain! It is no wonder that, although native south of Big Sur, they are uncommon in home gardens.

Their three foot tall and six foot wide stemless clumps of dense foliage would be a very efficient barrier that does not obstruct view, but is not always permanent. Within only a few years, mature plants die after summer bloom. Their big flower stalks emerge like asparagus and grow nearly twelve feet tall, with the upper half of their height branching into hefty spikes of pale white bell shaped flowers one or two inches wide.

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Arizona Cypress

Arizona cypress is distinctively grayish green.

Classification of this species may be complicated. About five distinct varieties of Arizona cypress, Cupressus arizonica, occur naturally. Some may sometimes classify as distinct species. Some grow no higher than twenty feet, with stout and shrubby form. Some grow fifty feet high, with sculpturally irregular form. Botanists may not agree on their identities.

Old trees that mostly grew from seed are typically noticeably variable. Some exhibit nice bluish green foliar color. Others are more grayish green. Modern trees are mostly modern cultivars with strikingly uniform silvery blue foliar color. Some are supposedly conducive to hedging, which enhances foliar color. Although evergreen, foliage is freshest in spring.

Without hedging, Arizona cypress develops splendid natural forms. Whether sculpturally irregular or compactly shrubby, it may need only minor grooming. Its finely textured foliar debris disappears into any ground cover below. However, such foliage can have a mildly herbicidal effect on lawns. Arizona cypress trees in a row can be an effective windbreak.

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Bear’s Breech

Bear’s breech can be a bit too sustainable, and difficult to get rid of.

Like some other Victorian perennials that are still happy after a century, bear’s breech, Acanthus mollis, can get to be too much of a good thing. It can become invasive where not contained. Once established, it is difficult to eradicate. The bold coarse foliage looks great while the weather is favorable, but then dies back after bloom when summer weather gets warm, leaving obvious voids where other plants were crowded out.

The good news is that bear’s breech does not require much attention at all. It is very easy to propagate by division or simply by digging a few thick roots while dormant or just as new foliage appears in autumn. Well watered plants can keep their foliage all year, so that they only need to be groomed of older foliage and spent flower stalks. Partial shade is not a problem; although snails can be.

Big arching leaves form bold mounds of glossy foliage about three feet wide. The distinctively lobed and toothed foliage has an appealing texture and deep green color. Elegant mostly white flower spikes stand nearly five feet tall late in spring into summer. Acanthus balcanicus (illustrated) is more compact, with more intricately textured foliage.