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Tiered Plantings
Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat
Peppermint Tree, Willow Myrtle
Autumn Joy Sedum
Dymondia, Rock Ditty
Purple Fountain Grass
Feather Reed Grass
Dusty Miller
Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat

Common name:Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat
Botanical name:Eriogonum arborescens

Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat is a loosely branched shrub growing 2'-5' high and wide with shredding, gray to reddish colored bark, grayish foliage, and creamy pink spring flowers. It is a CA native, drought tolerant, attracts butterflies and beneficial insects.

Peppermint Tree, Willow Myrtle

Common name:Peppermint Tree, Willow Myrtle
Botanical name:Agonis flexuosa

This tree is known as the peppermint tree because of the scent of the leaves when they are crushed. It is an evergreen tree or large shrub. It has abundant, small white flowers in spring. It is a medium to fast grower to 25' or 35'.

Autumn Joy Sedum

Common name:Autumn Joy Sedum
Botanical name:Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Noted as the finest of all upright Sedums, Autumn Joy Sedum produces from its sturdy stems, a variety of flower heads with an umbrella-like shape, whose color changes from pink to a rosy-red shade. This plant loses its leaves in the winter.

Dymondia, Rock Ditty

Common name:Dymondia, Rock Ditty
Botanical name:Dymondia margaretae

This foliage is gray/green/silvery; it is a very dense, mat forming ground cover. It tolerates drought, cold, salt spray and poor soils. It's deep rooted and produces small, inconspicuous yellow flowers. Rock Ditty is great for use in between stepping stones or pavers.

Common name:
Botanical name:Euphorbia lambii

This perennial will reach about 4' tall and has blue green leaves with bright green flowers that bloom from late winter to early spring.

Purple Fountain Grass

Common name:Purple Fountain Grass
Botanical name:Pennisetum 'Rubrum'

This grass will reach 6' high and has deciduous, purplish red leaves with clusters of purple flowers that appear in summer and fall. Tall grasses are highly combustible.

Feather Reed Grass

Common name:Feather Reed Grass
Botanical name:Calamagrostis X acutiflora 'Karl Foerste

This ornamental perennial grass grows 4'-6' tall and 1'-1.5' wide; it has semi-evergreen foliage that is green in spring and summer but turns green/brown in fall. The flowers bloom in mid June and emerge a light green but quickly turn to pink/purple. Tall grasses are highly combustible.

Dusty Miller

Common name:Dusty Miller
Botanical name:Centaurea cineraria

This perennial plant won't grow more than 1' tall and has large, silvery white leaves with blue, purple, or yellow flowers that bloom in summer.

Sustainable Landscape Renovation

We can identify at least 11 steps of sustainable landscape renovation for consideration. They include critical design, installation and maintenance practices that conform to good principles of appropriate horticulture.

Click in the green box for more information

Designer: anon.

Tiered Plantings

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Physical weed control, including mulching, or hand removal protects the watershed from harmful chemicals.

Integrated Pest Management:

Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.