Water Smart Plant Picker

Mediterranean, flowering, shrubby perennials with aromatic foliage.

• Wall germander (T. chamaedrys [x lucidrys], 1’ x 2’) is a popular groundcover with upright stems, dark green leaves, and red-purple or white flowers in summer.
• Majorcan germander (T. cossonii [majoricum], 6” x 2’) is a creeping perennial that produces a profusion of rosy purple flowers in mid-to-late spring.
• Bush germander (T. fruticans, 4-8’ x 4-8’) has silvery foliage and bears lavender-blue flower spikes from winter to spring and sporadically throughout the year.

Creeping thyme grows 2-3 inches tall and spreads 1-3 feet wide and can withstand foot traffic, making it an excellent choice for a walkable groundcover or turf alternative. It has fragrant pinkish-purplish tubular flowers which bloom in the summer. It requires well-drained, preferably sandy or rocky soil.

These aromatic Mediterranean perennials include many types used for culinary purposes, as well as others used as ornamental groundcovers. Creeping Thyme makes an excellent low-water use groundcover to replace lawn. Tiny green to gray-green aromatic leaves and masses of tiny flowers in spring or summer. Best in sun with excellent drainage. Shear taller plants occasionally for best form and more flowers.

Examples: The following examples are all available in many named varieties.

• Lemon thyme (T. x citriodorus, 1’ x 2’) has a lemony fragrance.
• Creeping thyme (T. praecox, 2-6” x 2-3’) provides an excellent groundcover between stepping stones.
• Woolly thyme (T. pseudolanuginosus, 2-4” x 3’) has wooly gray leaves.
• Elfin thyme (T. serpyllum ‘Elfin’, 1-2” x 6-12”) is one of the smallest thymes with tiny leaves and a very compact growth habit.
• Common thyme (T. vulgaris, 1’ x 2’) and named varieties are most commonly used for culinary purposes.

Woolly Bluecurls are a California native member of the mint family with a sweet minty aroma. They can grow quickly to 3-4 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide, but only live about 4-5 years. This shrub requires regular water until it is established, at which point too much water (even just occasional water in the summer) can kill it. It requires perfect drainage. Pollinators find it very attractive.

Society garlic is the most commonly available from this group of South African perennials.  Clumps of narrow, evergreen, strappy leaves are topped with tall flower stalks that display clusters of lavender flowers from spring through summer. Society garlic has a strong garlic-like odor!

Chinese evergreen elm has proven to be one of the most resistant species to Dutch elm disease and is a good choice for California gardens where a large tree is needed. This tree from China, Korea, and Japan has a broad, rounded canopy and is semi-evergreen in milder climate zones. Fast growing to 40-60 feet tall and wide. Exfoliating bark provides additional interest. Several cultivars are available offering different leaf characteristics.

Fast-growing perennials that thrive in hot locations and produce clusters of small, showy flowers in summer.

Examples:

• Lilac verbena (V. lilacina ‘De La Mina’, 1-2’ x 2-3’) from the Cedros Island off the coast of Baja California is a popular native for its deep purple flower color and uniform growth habit.
• Garden verbena (V. x hybrida, 6-12” x 2-3’) is a popular and showy groundcover available in many colors.
• V. bonariensis (3-6’ x 2-3’) is an upright perennial from South America with long, airy flower stalks. Reseeds readily and should not be planted near riparian areas where it can be invasive.

Attractive deciduous shrub or small tree native to streambanks from the Mediterranean region to central Asia that produces spikes of fragrant lavender-blue flowers in summer into fall.

Vitis californica (California wild grape) fast growing California native deciduous vine to 30 feet or more, with large, soft, heart-shaped green leaves that turn bright red and yellow in fall. Fruits are small and sour but attractive to many birds.  Sun to part shade, most soils.

Australian evergreen shrubs that are well-adapted to California gardens. W. fruticosa (3-6’ x 5-10’) is a mounding shrub with green-to-gray-green, needle-like leaves and small white or lavender flowers from winter into spring. W. ‘Wynyabbie Gem’ (6-8’ x 6-8’) has a more upright habit and lavender-blue flowers.

Evergreen succulent-like plants that grow over much of North America and feature sword-shaped leaves. Yuccas typically produce flowers on tall stalks in spring. Some yuccas are stemless while others have trunks and grow to tree size.

Examples: Banana yucca (Y. baccata, 3-4’ x 4-5’) eventually forms a short trunk. Adam’s needle (Y. filamentosa, 2-3’ x 4’) has loose fibers at the edge of leaves. Others are Spanish dagger (Y. gloriosa, 10’ x 8’), beaked yucca (Y. rostrata, 12-15’), and our Lord’s candle (Y. whipplei, 2-4’ x 3-6’), native to Southern California and Baja California.