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Zen in Los Osos
Mayten Tree
Gaiety Girl New Zealand Tea Tree
Sea Pink, Common Thrift
Swiss Mountain Pine
New Zealand Flax selections
Azure or Russian Sage
Buffalo Grass
Dwarf Hinoki Cypress
Mayten Tree

Common name:Mayten Tree
Botanical name:Maytenus boaria

The Mayten Tree is a slow growing tree that grows to 40' tall. It has weeping branches and dark green leaves. This tree can sucker in lawns and requires good drainage. It is drought tolerant.

Gaiety Girl New Zealand Tea Tree

Common name:Gaiety Girl New Zealand Tea Tree
Botanical name:Leptospermum scoparium 'Gaiety Girl'

New Zealand Tea Tree has small, needle-like green leaves with showy, 1/2" rose-like flowers in winter and spring. These shrubs can be thinned to enhance their attractive branch structure and flaking bark. They need very little water once established. 'Gaiety Girl' is a slow grower to 5' tall by 4' wide. It has reddish foliage with double flowers in pink and lilac.

Sea Pink, Common Thrift

Common name:Sea Pink, Common Thrift
Botanical name:Armeria maritima

This clumping, grass-like perennial is native to many areas, including coastal CA. Its flowers range from deep rose pink through white.

Swiss Mountain Pine

Common name:Swiss Mountain Pine
Botanical name:Pinus mugo

Pinus mugo is an evergreen tree or shrub that grows slowly. Needles are 2" long, dark green, stout, and crowded. Cones are 1"-2" long, oval, and tawny to dark brown. It is generally a bushy, twisted, somewhat open pine. Pines are highly combustible plants.

New Zealand Flax selections

Common name:New Zealand Flax selections
Botanical name:Phormium cultivars

New Zealand Flax is a large, bold plant with stiffly vertical, sword-like, green leaves that arise from its base. It should be grown under full sun for best color. Varieties will offer different growth habits and leaf color.

Azure or Russian Sage

Common name:Azure or Russian Sage
Botanical name:Perovskia X atriplicifolia

This broad perennial will grow 3'-6' tall and has small, gray green leaves with blue violet flowers that bloom in the summer.

Buffalo Grass

Common name:Buffalo Grass
Botanical name:Buchloe dactyloides

This perennial shortgrass grows 2"-5" high and 6'-12' wide. The rounded, hollow stems have gray green curly leaves that are 1/10" wide and 2" long. This grass is very drought-resistant and turns tan in winter and lavender in autumn. It is slow to establish, but extra summer water helps. This grass is low maintenance and needs full sun.

Dwarf Hinoki Cypress

Common name:Dwarf Hinoki Cypress
Botanical name:Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana'

The dark green foliage of this plant is produced in the form of flattened planes. It has very slow growth properties to a size of 3' high by 2' wide. It requires partial shade for growth, and is a choice plant for either rock or Asian gardens.

Permeable Surfaces

If you have impermeable paving that you would like to make permeable, there are two main methods for doing so:
1. Break up hard paved surfaces to create spaces for water to seep through.
2. Remove and replace the surfaces with permeable paving.

Click in the green box for more information

Designer: Anon

Zen in Los Osos

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.

Integrated Pest Management:

Attract, or buy beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings to control pest outbreaks in your garden.