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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Type: Grasses, Shrubs+ Tolerance: Drought Tolerant, Frost Tolerant+ Seasonal Interest: Summer
Displaying 1 - 20 of 86 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort
Andropogon zizanioides Andropogon zizanioides
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This beautiful ornamental grass has upright, glossy green foliage and interesting, animated leaf tips that resemble party favors. Evergreen to 25°F, these plants gain reddish purple hues in the fall and winter. This plant is extremely adaptable—it thrives in desert and damp conditions, it is used for erosion control, and it works well in containers or as a screen. It looks especially beautiful when backlit by the sun.

Berberis × stenophylla 'Corallina Compacta' Berberis × stenophylla 'Corallina Compacta'
(Compact coral barberry)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

"Thorny but irresistible" best describes this low-maintenance, elfin barberry. Tiny leaves are smothered in coral-colored buds opening to bright yellow-orange spring flowers. These, in turn, produce silver-frosted, blue-black berries in fall. 'Corallina Compacta' is evergreen, tolerates most soil types, and is pest-free and drought tolerant once established.

Bouteloua gracilis Bouteloua gracilis
(Blue grama, Signal-arm grass, Mosquito grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Blue grama is a perennial grass from the Americas bearing unusually bent and flattened inflorescences. Being native to open grasslands, they are drought tolerant and at home in meadows. They provide the garden with shades of tan that persist throughout winter. 

Buddleia davidii 'Black Knight' Buddleia davidii 'Black Knight'
(Butterfly bush, Summer lilac)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Butterfly bushes are carefree deciduous shrubs that are reliably fragrant and easy to grow. Butterflies swarm to their blooms all summer long. 'Black Knight' has deep purple-blue, almost black, flowers in elongated clusters on arching branches to 10 feet tall if not cut back, and half that size if cut back. The blooms come from early summer to first frost. The foliage is willow-like and grayish green.

Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
(Karl Foerster's Feather Reed Grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Versatile, attractive and care-free ornamental grass with wheat-like appearance. Slender, upright, deep-green, lustrous foliage becomes effective by early spring and lasts all the way until winter. A cool season grass, 'Karl Foester' is upright and clump forming, with purplish-green, feathery plumes to 6'. It distinctively blooms in early summer rather than fall and must have winter chill to bloom. Long lived -- 25 years or more. -Santa Rosa Gardens

Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'
(Karl Foerster feather reed grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This versatile ornamental grass has slender, upright, deep-green foliage. A cool season grass, it is upright and clump forming, with purplish-green, feathery plumes that can reach 6 feet in height. It blooms in early summer rather than fall and must have winter chill to bloom.



Information provided by Santa Rosa Gardens.

Calamintha nepeta Calamintha nepeta
(Lesser calamint)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Lesser calamint produces fine, upright stems which are covered with small, shiny, dark green leaves, forming a little bush from 12 to 18 inches tall, and twice as wide. In late August, it produces a cloud of infinitesimal pale lavender flowers that continue blooming for up to six weeks. As the days become cooler, the color of the tiny, lipped blossoms deepens.

Caryopteris × clandonensis 'Longwood Blue' Caryopteris × clandonensis 'Longwood Blue'
(Blue beard, blue-mist shrub)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Longwood Blue' is ideal for a mixed or shrub border. It's an attractive woody shrub up to 3 feet tall and 5 feet wide with silvery leaves and violet-blue flowers.. The flowers appear along the stems in late summer and early autumn.This plant is relatively drought tolerant and very heat tolerant. The shrub expands as branches that touch the ground form their own roots and may self-seed.

Caryopteris × clandonensis 'Worcester Gold' Caryopteris × clandonensis 'Worcester Gold'
(Blue beard, Blue-mist shrub)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Worcester Gold' is an attractive, mounding, woody shrub with warm yellow to chartreuse foliage and lavender-blue flowers in late summer and early autumn. The flowers are fragrant and attractive to bees and butterflies. The foliage is also aromatic. It is ideal for a mixed or shrub border.

Chasmanthium latifolium Chasmanthium latifolium
(Northern sea oats, Spangle grass, Wild oats)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Northern sea oats is a loosely tufted, clump-forming grass with lance-shaped, arching mid-green foliage that turns yellow in winter. Summer brings highly decorative oat-like panicles of flat, green flowerheads that shimmer and rustle in the wind, aging to bronze by late summer.

Cordia parvifolia Cordia parvifolia
(Littleleaf cordia)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Though its leaves are small, this semi-deciduous shrub stands out in the landscape. Littleleaf cordia has a prolifically branching, slightly open form that looks good year-round. Its roughly textured, dark gray-green foliage contrasts nicely with its coppery brown young stems. From late spring into fall, branch tips bear clusters of pristine, white, funnel-shaped flowers to provide a visually cooling effect during the peak of summer heat. It grows to 6 to 8 feet tall and wide.

Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy' Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy'
(Festival™ Burgundy corydaline)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This basal branching cordyline combines the rugged easy-care attributes of its cordyline cousins with an unusual mix of shiny dark color, compact bushy form, short stems and cascading grass-like leaves.

Cortaderia selloana 'Gold Band' Cortaderia selloana 'Gold Band'
('Gold Band' pampas grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This clumping, drought-tolerant grass is one of the best pampas grasses you could grow. It has the showy, late-summer plumes common to this group, but they grow straight up, not willy-nilly like many other varieties; they eventually stand 4 to 6 feet above the foliage. Even better news is that this cultivar does not set seed, so it is noninvasive. The foliage features distinct golden edges, which, for a grass, usually menas that it loves shade or moisture. But 'Gold Band' tolerates heat and drought, making it great for large containers, and it can handle coastal conditions, too.

Cotinus coggygria Cotinus coggygria
(Smoke tree, Venetian sumac)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This bushy shrub or small tree has generated many notable cultivars, all of which add great textural qualities to the landscape. It has 6-inch-long frothy plumes that appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips. Its green leaves are smooth and rounded and produce brilliant fall color.

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
(Smoke tree, Venetian sumac)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This shrub or small tree has stunning dark red-purple foliage that turns scarlet in autumn. It has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.

Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak' Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak'
(Smoke tree, Venetian sumac)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This shrub or small tree has stunning deep purple foliage that turns orange-red in autumn. It has plume-like seed heads, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.

Dalea frutescens Dalea frutescens
(Black dalea)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This low, mounding, Southwest native shrub up to 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide has feathery foliage that contributes fine texture to a garden. While evergreen in milder climates, in temperate climates it is deciduous. Its small, pealike purple flowers appear in late summer and continue into fall.

Dalea greggii Dalea greggii
(Trailing indigo bush)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Despite a soft, delicate appearance, trailing indigo bush is one of the toughest groundcovers around. The feathery, silvery green compound foliage makes the clusters of tiny, rosy purple flowers stand out at close range. The blooms, which occur most heavily in spring and summer, return sporadically the rest of the year. This plant is excellent for stabilizing soil on slopes because its stem nodes root wherever they come in contact with the ground.

Deschampsia cespitosa 'Northern Lights' Deschampsia cespitosa 'Northern Lights'
(Tufted hair grass, Tussock grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A tuft of thin grassy foliage with gray and gold variegation distinguishes this cultivar. Early summer brings 3-foot-tall, airy plumes of tiny flowers that look beautiful when backlit by the sun. As fall approaches, the foliage turns golden with pink-coral tips. This grass even grows well in shadier sites. Plant in a border, woodland garden, or shaded rock garden.

Ephedra equisetina Ephedra equisetina
(Bluestem joint fir)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A member of the conifer clan, Ephedra equisetina is commonly called bluestem joint fir due to its finely textured blue stems. In spring, it features a conspicuous froth of yellow blooms that are often followed by red berries. It is perfect for naturalized areas since it reliably spreads.


Displaying 1 - 20 of 86 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort