Water Smart Plant Picker

Aloysia citriodora [triphylla] is a fast growing, evergreen shrub reaching 6-8 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide. They have a unique lemon scent, the herbaceous leaves bring a bright zesty smell and taste. The plant brings beauty to a landscape with its refreshing scent as well as white and purple flowers. Full sun, most soils. Best along the coast.

Evergreen shrub from South Africa, 4-6 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide, with deep green leaves and showy whorls of orange flowers in summer and fall that are attractive to bees and butterflies. Cut back in late winter for renewed growth and to promote flowering.

This native shrub has aromatic, softly hairy, lance-shaped to oval, gray-green to yellowish green leaves. Its flowers, which bloom in spring, are white with a lavendar tint. It grows 3-8 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide. If kept dry, it may drop leaves in the summer. It prefers sun along the coast but light shade inland and thrives in most well-drained soils.

Evergreen shrub quickly reaches 3-6 feet tall and wide, with aromatic, softly hairy, gray-green leaves and pinkish to lavender tubular flowers in spring and summer. Native to rocky, often north-facing slopes in the mountains of central and southern California, the Channel Islands, and Baja California. Full sun along the coast, light shade inland, most well-drained soils. It attracts hummingbirds and hosts two species of moth and butterfly.

California native, perennial groundcover with a variable form from 1-3’ high. Lavender, yellow-centered, daisy-like flowers bloom in late spring and summer. The most commonly available cultivar is L. f. ‘Silver Carpet’, which forms a mat of silvery foliage 6-12” high and 4-8’ wide. Provides both a nectar and larval food source for butterflies. Light pruning after flowering keeps this plant tidy.

Leucadendron species and cultivars (conebush), are evergreen shrubs and small trees, often 3-10 feet tall and wide, a few much larger, with lance-shaped, elliptical, or sometimes needlelike leaves and colorful bracts surrounding conical flowerheads. Most bloom in winter or spring. Native to South Africa. Sun to part shade, with good air circulation, and excellent drainage.

Small, clumping, Mediterranean perennial with large leaves and papery, purple and white flowers from spring into the summer months. Frost tender below 25°F.

Clumping, grass-like Australian evergreen perennial that grows 4-5’ tall and wide. Adapted to various soil and sun exposure conditions. Flowers in spring and into summer with fragrant clusters of smaller yellow flowers. L. l. ‘Breeze’ is a smaller cultivar that grows 2-3’.

Honeysuckle is a varied group of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and vines with fragrant, tubular flowers. Several species are native to California and are well suited to gardens in Sonoma and Marin counties. Flowers are attractive to bees and hummingbirds and berries provide food for birds.

Examples: California honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula) is a deciduous, vining shrub often seen growing in woodland environments. Cream and pink flower clusters in spring are followed by red berries in late summer. Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata, 6-10’ x 6-10’) is a deciduous shrub that typically grows along streams and other moist places. Tubular, red and yellow flowers grow in pairs, followed by dark pairs of berries. Provide light shade in warmer locations.

Attractive, Chinese evergreen shrub with gently drooping branches and unusual flowers with thread-like petals in the spring. Commonly available either with green leaves and white flowers, or purple leaves and pink flowers. Well suited to understory locations with partial shade in hotter locations. Grows naturally as a shrub but may be available as a standard or espalier.

Popular group of annuals, perennials, and shrubs with distinctive divided leaves that are common throughout the western United States, including California. Pea-like flowers are displayed on spikes and are attractive to bees and other pollinators. Most native lupines are purple-flowered, while some are yellow. Provide full sun and good drainage and watch out for slugs and snails.

Examples: Silver bush lupine (L. albifrons, 3-4’ x 3-4’), prostate lupine (L. albifrons var. collinus, 12-18” x 12-18”), coastal bush lupine (L. arboreus) available with either blue or yellow flowers but can be invasive in some north coastal dunes, and blue-and-white lupine (L. bicolor) a low-growing, annual wildflower.

This medium-to-large, evergreen Channel Island native tree offers fern-like leaves, peeling bark, and large, flat-topped, creamy white flower clusters in spring or summer. It can reach 25-50 feet tall and 15-25 feet wide. Flowers are attractive to pollinating insects and birds and gradually turn brown. Cool sun to part shade or afternoon shade inland, excellent drainage. Best near the coast.