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Orchid Rockrose

Orchid rockrose, as well as other rockrose, are remarkably resilient.

Out in the most remote islands in the vast parking lots of Westgate Mall, the three inch wide, bright pink flowers of orchid rockrose, Cistus X purpureus, defy the harsh exposure and sun baked soil. They begin to bloom somewhat abundantly about now after winter rains, and continue until the beginning of summer. Sporadic flowers can occasionally bloom out of season. The center of each flower looks like a starfish wearing a fuzzy sweater, because each of the five petals has a brownish red spot at the base, surrounding the bright yellow stamens.

Mature orchid rockrose plants are typically less than four feet tall and broad, with somewhat grayish green, aromatic foliage. Individual leaves are about one or two inches long. Older stems can be pruned out as they start to deteriorate and drop leaves, in order to promote new growth that lasts longer. Otherwise, plants look tired after a few years, and eventually die out. Orchid rockrose does not want much water once established, and can only tolerate frequent watering with good drainage.

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Spanish Lavender

Spanish lavender bloom appeals to bees.

English lavender is likely the most common of this genus, with the most cultivars. French lavender is the primary culinary species. Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas, should likely be more popular than it is. All lavenders live for only a few years. Spanish lavender is more likely to self sow to replace itself, though. It can naturalize in favorable situations.

Spanish lavender is an evergreen shrub of irregular form, that grows as tall as three feet. Its finely textured foliage is grayish or drab green. Individual leaves are quite narrow and only about half an inch to an inch and a half long. Roots are not finicky about soil, but are likely to rot if irrigation is generous. Spanish lavender prefers warm and sunny exposure.

Bloom begins as soon as weather warms in spring and continues into summer. Sparsely sporadic bloom can continue until autumn. Dense floral spikes stand several inches over their foliage, on bare stems. They would not be very colorful if not for their few long upper bracts. Bloom is typically lavender, but may be bluish lavender, pink or very rarely white. It delights bees.

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Pacific Wax Myrtle

Pacific wax myrtle is the native version of bayberry.

From Washington to Southern California, the Pacific wax myrtle, Myrica californica, is native to coastal regions. It is the western counterpart to the bayberry, Myrica pen(n)sylvanica (or caroliniensis), of the East Coast. It makes a nice informal hedge with only occasional shearing, or an informal screen that only gets trimmed back when it gets too big. Mature plants can get nearly thirty feet tall in sheltered areas, but rarely get half as tall and wide, even if allowed to grow unimpeded. The glossy three inch long leaves are narrow with slightly undulate margins with small teeth.

Pacific wax myrtle functions something like glossy privet or some of the pittosporums that make good hedges, but is not so resilient to frequent shearing. Big stems that get cut back to not always produce new growth. The advantage of Pacific wax myrtle is that it is native, so does not want much water once established, so is happy in out of the way places that do not get watered or maintained. Like privets and pittosporums, Pacific wax myrtle can be pruned up as a small tree with multiple exposed trunks.

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Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’

Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’ makes good hedges.

Almost all pittosporums appreciate sunlight and warmth. Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’ is no exception. However, it tolerates a bit of more partial shade than most. Furthermore, its grayish and creamy white variegation brightens shady situations. Its distinctively convex and glossy leaves are a bit flatter and broader where shaded. Shade inhibits bloom also.

Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’ is more popular as a foliar hedge anyway. Its small trusses of pale white flowers are neither prominent nor colorful. They can be delightfully fragrant in abundance, though. Stems are quite stout and can eventually grow more than six feet tall. They are resilient to frequent pruning and hedging, and can be cut back if necessary.

Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’ seems to lack a common name that is genuinely common. That is why its botanical name is most popular. Some know it as mock orange, but this is also a common name of Philadelphus. Some know it as Australian laurel, but it is neither a laurel nor from Australia. Regardless of name or origin, it is content with local climates. Once established, it is undemanding, and may need no watering.

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Gopher Purge

Caustic sap deters gophers.

The common name may be derived from ‘gopher spurge’, since Euphorbia lathyris is within the family of plants known as ‘spurge’, and it is also purported to ‘purge’ the garden of gophers and moles. Like all related spurge, it has caustic opaque white sap that is very irritating to the skin and toxic if ingested. This offensive sap prevents anything from burrowing through the roots, but unfortunately does not prevent gophers and moles from going around. Therefore, a garden that is adequately protected may also be crowded by gopher purge.

Individual plants live for only two years, but produce enough seed to seem like perennials. Their mostly solitary stems can grow to nearly five feet tall with foliage that spreads up to a foot wide in the first year. Tiny yellow flowers that bloom in the second summer are not remarkable; and can set seed without getting much notice before the plant dies. Gopher purge can naturalize without becoming too invasive in regularly moist or somewhat shady parts of the garden. It prefers to be watered occasionally in drier and sunnier areas.

The foliage of gopher purge is strikingly symmetrical. Each pair of grayish or bluish green leaves is perpendicular to the pairs above and below it, in a four ranked pattern. Except for the newest upper leaves, each leaf pair is also arranged in a generally horizontal plane, perpendicular to the vertical stem. Gopher purge seems to have been assembled in the garden instead of grown there.

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Californian Blue-Eyed Grass

Blue-eyed grass is not grass.

It is not a grass, and lacks eyes, but it is native to most of California and western Oregon. Blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium bellum, is related to iris, which actually sounds ocular. Its tiny flowers are typically rather purplish, but can be clear sky blue, or rarely white. Bloom continues through spring until summer dormancy. All foliage then dies back until autumn.

Blue-eyed grass develops small foliar tufts that expand quite slowly. It propagates easily from division of its thin rhizomes as it resumes growth in autumn. Plugging newly divided rhizomes adjacent to original foliar tufts accelerates expansion. Blue-eyed grass can self sow, but typically does so only sparsely. Its grassy foliage is typically less than a foot tall.

Although native and impressively resilient, blue-eyed grass appreciates a bit of moisture. However, it may never require irrigation, since it is dormant through the summer season. Irrigation might maintain foliage through much of summer, but if excessive, can cause rot. Blue-eyed grass prefers sunny and warm exposure, without contention from other plants.

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Manzanita

Manzanita is Spanish for “little apple”.

Mature common manzanita, Arctostaphylos manzanita, can get more than fifteen feet tall and about half as wide, so can be rather large shrubbery or small trees. Pruning away lower growth exposes their interestingly sculptural and smooth cinnamon red stems and trunks. The rather stiff light green leaves make light shade that smaller plants can live with. Waxy pinkish buds bloom into small pendulous clusters of tiny white lantern like flowers as winter becomes spring.

Manzanitas prefer to be neglected. They should not be pruned too much, and certainly should not get shorn. Obtrusive stems should be pruned out completely, since stems that get cut back do not regenerate. New plants should only be watered once or twice weekly through the first summer. Mature plants plants only want to be watered monthly or even less. After all, they are native to the surrounding hillsides, so are very satisfied with annual rainfall.

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Lungwort

Most lungwort blooms blue or purplish.

Its unappealing common name is less common than its more agreeable botanical name. Lungwort does not sound as pretty, or at least as official as Pulmonaria officinalis. It is an evergreen perennial, although its foliage likely desiccates through summer. New foliage replaces it during cooler autumn weather. Lungwort prefers cool and moist partial shade.

Mounds of foliar rosettes grow no deeper than a foot. They often stay only half a foot high as they spread as wide as two feet. Their lowest rhizomes produce adventitious roots so that they can sprawl even farther. Such growth is easy to divide. Foliage of most cultivars exhibits pretty lighter green or silver spots or blotches. Some is almost completely silver.

Lungwort blooms mostly for late winter and early spring. Trusses of daintily small flowers hover barely above their basal foliage. The most popular sort blooms with pinkish purple flowers that mature to blue. Others bloom with purple, pink, purplish red or white flowers. Although foliage is healthier within partial shade, sunshine promotes profusion of bloom.

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English Daisy

Common English daisy can infest lawns.

Like pampas grass, periwinkle and the ivies, English daisy, Bellis perennis, has a bad reputation as an aggressive weed. The primitive species with single white flowers with bright yellow centers is very difficult to eradicate once it becomes established in lawns. The first phase of bloom in early spring can be profuse enough to resemble thin patches of snow that appear as the weather gets warmer instead of colder.

Varieties that are sometimes found in nurseries are much better behaved and more colorful. Their red, pink or white flowers are typically double, and stand on stems about three inches high. Their rich green, inch and a half long leaves make six inch wide clumps that are compact enough to mix with other small perennials in borders, urns or large pots. Deadheading (removal of fading flowers) is a bit tedious for so many small flowers, but promotes continued bloom. English daisy is very easy to propagate by division.