Our Plants (List)

Purple three awn is one of California’s finest grasses for the garden. It is an upright fountain in form, has a fine blade and is covered with purple-tinged seed heads in the spring and early summer. It also is not invasive even though the seeds are viable. It may be…

Aristolochia californicum, Dutchman’s Pipe, is named for its distinctive, ornate flower. It is often found in shady, moist areas but also under the dry shade of oaks. After winter dormancy it sends out branches along the ground and into neighboring vegetation to a height of up to 20 feet. The…

California sagebrush is common in sunny locations of the coastal mountains from the greater SF Bay Area southward into northwestern Baja. The ‘Canyon Gray’ selection was introduced by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden after it was discovered on little San Miguel Island off the coast from Gaviota. Battering winds on…

This popular selection of the widespread California sagebrush was taken in San Mateo County by Roger Raiche, an influential plantsman of an earlier generation. Like the species it grows as a rounded upright shrub with dense, finely dissected leaves with a gray-green hue. While the species can grow to four…

Mugwort is one of the most adaptable and widespread of California’s native plants. It grows in a variety of plant communities in every part of the state except the deserts of the southeast. It forms unassuming stands of light green, fragrant stalks to about four feet. These spread primarily by…

This attractive little shrub grows on San Nicolas, San Clemente and Santa Barbara Islands off the coast of Southern California. The form is upright and rounded, with fine needle-like, finely dissected, leaves with the silvery color typical for this group of plants. Also typical of the Artemisia, island sagebrush has…

Sandhill sage grows at the immediate coast from Santa Cruz County into Oregon. It grows as a rounded shrub with deeply dissected silvery leaves. The ‘David’s Choice’ selection grows to about 18 inches in height, while the species may grow a foot taller or so. In summer, fronds of conical…