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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Zone: 8, 10+ Seasonal Interest: Spring, Winter+ Moisture: Dry
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 listings   Sort By: Sort
Agave americana Agave americana
(American aloe, Century plant)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This plant has a rosette of broad sword-like, succulent, gray-green leaves. It provides a statuesque presence for sunny dry sites and under glass. It's also a classic plant for urns, thanks to the architectural splendor of its simple form.

Antennaria spp. Antennaria spp.
(Pussy-toes, Cat's ears)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Low-growing rosettes of long gray leaves covered in fine gray hairs and gray-white flowers in spring that resemble a cat's paw make Antennaria great plants for edging, pathways, or stone walls.

Artemisia ludoviciana Artemisia ludoviciana
(Western mugwort)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is a high-drama native. Its gracious, high-impact, powdery-white shrubby mounded foliage grows to 4 feet tall.

Bergenia cillata Bergenia cillata
(Hairy bergenia)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is the most drought-tolerant bergenia I’ve found and the only one that does well in Texas heat. The large, hairy, critter-resistant leaves do not resemble other members of this genus; they look more like hairy plates or giant African violet leaves—hence, it’s common name. Mature plants will send up 10-inch-long stems of white to pale pink flowers from spring to early summer, but the real reason to grow this plant is its remarkable foliage.
In cooler regions, hairy bergenia grows not only in the shade but also in full sun. It isn’t particular about soil type or pH. Divide plants every three to five years to keep them vigorous. -Jimmy Turner, Perennials for dry shade, Fine Gardening issue #133

Cedrus atlantica f. glauca Cedrus atlantica f. glauca
(Blue Atlas cedar)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This stunning evergreen conifer can be a very large specimen tree (to over 100 feet) in the landscape. Its young, silvery foliage turns vivid glaucous blue as it ages; the sharply pointed leaves are arranged in whorls. Female cones are green and can be up to 4 inches long; they ripen slowly over 2 years to pale brown. This tree needs a lot of space to reach its majestic potential.

Cynara cardunculus Cynara cardunculus
(Cardoon)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Cardoon is an architectural splendor with bold texture, thanks to its large, prickly, almost dagger-shaped gray-green arching leaves and a statuesque, vase-shaped frame. It is topped with round, purple, thistlelike flowers in midsummer. Cardoon can reach up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae
(Mrs. Robb's bonnet)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This variety has dark, glossy evergreen leaves arranged in tight rosettes, and it produces yellow-green bracts in mid-spring and early summer.

Festuca glauca 'Boulder Blue' Festuca glauca 'Boulder Blue'
(Blue fescue, Gray fescue)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Regarded by some as the bluest blue fescue, this plant forms compact, cascading mounds of foot-tall, intensely blue, narrow leaves that are attractive in all seasons. Blooms are generally secondary to the foliage, but this cultivar blooms more heavily than most, with spikelets in summer. This cultivar is long-lived and very hardy. Grow in groups in a border or rock garden, or as a groundcover. 

x Heucherella 'Sweet Tea' x Heucherella 'Sweet Tea'
('Sweet Tea' heucherella)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Anyone who gardens in the shade is familiar with heucherella. ‘Sweet Tea’ was bred using Heuchera villosa, a native of the eastern United States, as one of its parents, which has added enough resistance to heat, drought, and humidity to make it able to handle even the extreme climate of Texas. ‘Sweet Tea’ has large, stained, orange-bronze leaves with dark burgundy veins and short spikes of small white flowers that appear in early spring. Its brightly colored foliage, however, is the main reason to have this plant. Give it well-drained soil, and lift and divide it every couple of years. -Jimmy Turner, Perennials for dry shade, Fine Gardening issue #133


Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 listings   Sort By: Sort