Regional Picks: Summer Standouts – Southern California

1. ‘Big Magenta’ African daisy

Name:Arctotis acaulis‘Big Magenta’

USDA Hardiness Zones:9 to 11

Size:1 foot marvellous and 3 to 4 understructure wide

term : Full Lord’s Day ; any soil

Give this full-bodied , easy - care ground cover good deal of room . It spreads fast , forming a silvery green carpet topped with blistering pinkish flower on stout , argent green stems . ‘ liberal Magenta ’ African daisy blooms most heavily with red-hot day and cool Nox , and in coastal California , it never seems to go completely out of bloom . This South Africa aboriginal stays lush with lilliputian water supply and looks best when planted en masse . The prime shut down at night and may not open fully on overcast days .

2. ‘Limelight’ Mexican Sage

Name:Salvia mexicana‘Limelight’

Zones:9 to 11

Size:4 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide

Conditions : Full sunshine to fond ghost ; prefers well - drained soil

This is one of my go - to sages . A native of Mexico , ‘ Limelight ’ Mexican sage grow tight , with a tall , slim shape that hug into tight spaces and quickly adds tallness to a landscape painting . To asseverate a symmetrical silhouette and encourage new growth , from time to time snip off during the growing time of year and then give it a operose trimming in spring .

3. San Miguel Island Buckwheat

Name:Eriogonum grandevar.rubescens

Size:12 to 18 inches tall and 2 to 3 foot wide

condition : Full sun on the coast , some shade inland ; prefers well - drained stain

This long - experience buckwheat is one of my favorite natives because it stays tidy class - round , call for next to no irrigation , and easily conform to unlike conditions and garden style . San Miguel Island buckwheat even provides sustenance to butterflies . summertime is its glory time of year , when it ’s enveloped in a haze of marble - size of it pink pompon that sit atop stiff husk that climb up about a foot above the foliage . The tiny flowers wrick browned in fall . nip them off , or forget them on for winter interest . This repeated self - sows , but the seedling are easy to pluck if you do n’t want the patch to expand .

4. ‘Vancouver Centennial’ Pelargonium

Name:Pelargonium‘Vancouver Centennial’

Zones:10 to 11

Size:1 pes grandiloquent and wide

Conditions : Full sunlight to partial shade ; well - drained , loam territory

arise ‘ Vancouver Centennial ’ pelargonium for its eye - catching , maple - shaped leaves . The pea green edges ply a coolheaded look on red-hot days . Although many glasshouse will recommend full Dominicus , I notice that too much lightness falsify the colors . I hide mine from the afternoon sun behind a patio post . Let it go dry between waterings , and avoid puzzle piddle on the leaves .

Joan S. Bolton is the principal designer and owner of Santa Barbara Garden Design in Goleta , California .

photo : courtesy of Joan Bolton ; Steve Aitken ; Bill Johnson

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Regional Picks: Summer Standouts - Northeast

Regional Picks: Summer Standouts - Southern Plains

Regional Picks: Summer Standouts - Midwest

Regional Picks: Summer Standouts - Northwest

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