Regional Picks: Garden Staples – Northern California

1. Tall Purple Verbena

Name:Verbena bonariensis

USDA Hardiness Zones:7 to 11

Size:6 feet improbable and 18 inches wide

weather : Full sun ; well - drain stain

Tall purple vervain fulfills all my cottage - garden phantasy without requiring me to take tutelage of a taking over of frothy annuals all summertime . The flowers stand on stiff stem that do n’t demand staking . This plant never needs any extra urine , and it ’s a butterfly stroke attraction . Perhaps my favorite trait of this plant is that it is ludicrously easy to circularize . you’re able to take a stem turn , trim down it into firearm , stick the pieces in the ground when it ’s raining , then hold back until they settle down over the next few days . This verbena is also that uncommon tall works that can go in the front of the margin because it ’s see - through .

2. Large Cape Rush

Name:Chondropetalum elephantinum

Zones:8 to 11

Size:3 to 5 feet improbable and 4 to 6 feet wide

weather : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , well - drain soil

This is such a sculptural , hip , modernist plant , it had to make my tilt of favorites . Large mantle rush requires no care and looks utter year - round . The catalogs indicate that it likes dampish , boggy grime , but I did n’t screw that when I plant mine in my south - confront front thousand , which I almost never water . The plant apparently did n’t get the memo , either , because it thrives on my abuse and forces its way powerful past the nastiest weeds . If you want to occupy a vase with something interesting but nothing is in bloom , this is the perfect works .

3. Pheasant’s Tail Grass

Name:Stipa arundinacea

Size:3 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide

I never thought a grass would be on my list of must - have plants — where are the blossom ? But pheasant ’s tail dope is awe-inspiring . It ’s billed as a immature - and - atomic number 79 plant , but look closely and you ’ll see pink , orange , amber — every color of the sunset . Nothing could be more beautiful blowing around on a winter day . And it ’s a monstrosity , too ; I have a 6 - foot - wide clump in my front railway yard . Best of all , this grass is low-pitched maintenance : no weeding , no tearing , no anything . You purportedly should whack it back in winter , but I ’ve never bother — and it still looks unbelievable .

4. California Poppy

Name:Eschscholzia californica

Size:1 foot tall and 6 column inch wide

Conditions : Full sun ; rich , well - drained soil

It must be allege : If you survive in California and you do n’t grow our state wild flower , then go back to Texas . It ’s passably much a required flower around here . Nothing cheers me up more than that brilliant orange colour on one of our foggy summertime days here on the sea-coast . Some hoi polloi do n’t realize that the California poppy will act as a perennial , so here ’s a tip : Treat it as a perennial . Cut it back in fall and it will return the following spring . If you do n’t commove the roots when you first plant this poppy , then it will make itself quickly .

Amy Stewart is one of the cofounder of the web log Garden Rant , and she lives in Eureka , California .

photo : good manners of Scott Brown ; Jennifer Benner ; courtesy of San Marcos Growers ; Jerry Pavia ; Michelle Gervais

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