Steve, who gardens in Los Angeles, keeps sending in beautiful photos, so I keep sharing them! If you missed his previous posts, you can catch up here: Steve’s Southern California Garden.
He certainly takes full advantage of the beautiful plants that his climate allows him to grow, and they are thriving despite the odd weather the area has had this year.
Succulents are always good choices for container plantings because they won’t mind if you miss a watering. And if you live in a climate that is less than ideal for them, it is easy to move them out of excessive rain or cold that might damage them.
Gorgeous soft yellow Leucospermum (Zones 9–11) flowers tumble down with a backdrop of blue California lilac (Caeonothus, hardiness zone varies by species). The California lilac is native to the west coast of North America, while the leucospermum hails from South Africa. Many South African species do well in California because the climates can be quite similar.
Here are more container plantings, with a Leucospermum showing off in the middle.
Fivespot (Nemophila maculata, annual) is a California native annual that grows and flowers during the typically wetter winter months before fading away in the drier summer. It is easy to see how it gets its common name, with the dark blue spots on each of the five petals.
Variegated pride of Madeira (Echium candicans ‘Star of Madeira’, Zones 9–10) is just starting to come into bloom, but the spires of blue flowers are totally upstaged by that incredible variegated foliage.
A penstemon (Penstemon sp.) flower in the foreground is backed up by a red Callistemon. The Callistemon is native to Australia, while Penstemon is a huge genus with countless species native to western North America.
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