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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Type: Grasses, Shrubs+ Tolerance: Deer Tolerant, Drought Tolerant+ Seasonal Interest: Summer
Displaying 1 - 20 of 88 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort
Aesculus parviflora Aesculus parviflora
(Bottlebrush buckeye)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Large palmate-leaved shrub with showy white 12-inch-tall blooms in summer, followed by smooth-skinned fruit. Leaves emerge bronze and turn yellow in autumn.

Aesculus parviflora var. serotina 'Rogers' Aesculus parviflora var. serotina 'Rogers'
('Rogers' bottlebrush buckeye)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is a suckering, deciduous shrub grown for it's white, bottlebrush-like flowers in early summer. The flowers are considerably longer than those of the species at up to 30 inches, and emerge a couple of weeks later. The shrub grows to 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide and prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. Its layers of broad leaves turn gold in fall.Suitable for a medium to large garden.

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.

Aronia arbutifolia Aronia arbutifolia
(Red chokeberry)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Fragrant white flowers in spring, red fall foliage, and persistent berries for winter interest make Aronia a valuable plant in all seasons.

Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
(Red chokeberry)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is an erect shrub with lustrous dark green leaves that turn scarlet in autumn. It produces numerous white flowers tinged with pink, and abundant showy red berries that persist into winter (birds dislike the taste).

Aucuba japonica 'Variegata' Aucuba japonica 'Variegata'
(Gold-dust plant)
(4 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The dense, glossy foliage of this evergreen plant is splattered with yellow. Gold-dust plant can be planted near nearby tree roots, and it responds well to pruning. Combine it with yellow-blooming or variegated plants for appealing color harmonies. -Debra Lee Baldwin, Regional Picks: Southern California, Fine Gardening issue #127

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.

Berberis thunbergii 'Golden Nugget' Berberis thunbergii 'Golden Nugget'
(Dwarf Japanese barberry)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Golden Nugget' is a deciduous shrub with non-burning foliage. It is a slow grower (to only about 1 foot tall) and makes a good border plant, especially when planted with darker foliage plants or brightly colored flowers, or a groundcover. Grow in full sun for best color and berry production. It tolerates poor soils as long as drainage is good.The foliage has an orange cast for most of the season, which intensifies in the autumn.

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. 

Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita' Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita'
('Hachita' Blue Grama Grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Hachita' has narrow, blue-green leaves that form dense mounds. In summer, elongated seedheads add visual interest. This tough, drought-tolerant grass thrives in sand or clay soil with full-sun exposure. It needs a setting with good drainage, as it won't thrive in wet conditions. -Scott Vogt, Native grasses, Fine Gardening issue #124

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

This sun-lover comes in hues from pure white to deepest purple. From midsummer until frost, butterfly bush earns its name as hordes of winged beauties flit from flower to flower in search of nectar. The lanceolate leaves are 10 to 12 inches long and white or grayish underneath. The honey-scented flowers are deep purple and grow in spikes, from July to October.

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

These plants can take worst of the a hot summer (heat, lack of water, and humidity) and still manage to perform well. They generally live four to five years before they need replacing, but during that time, they offer dependable foliage and pretty blue flowers from mid- to late summer. Blue-mist shrubs form low-growing, finely-textured mounds and are deer-resistant.

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.

Clethra alnifolia Clethra alnifolia
(Sweet pepperbush)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This upright, suckering shrub has fragrant, white or pink terminal flower spikes in late summer. The blooms look like bottle brushes and attract butterflies and bees. Leaves turn a pleasant yellow in autumn.

Clethra alnifolia 'Sixteen Candles' Clethra alnifolia 'Sixteen Candles'
(Sweet pepperbush)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

‘Sixteen Candles’ summersweet is a newer cultivar of a popular native shrub. This compact selection reaches 3 to 5 feet tall. In summer, ‘Sixteen Candles’ is topped with aromatic, erect, butterfly-enticing white blooms for 4 to 6 weeks. In fall, the leaves turn an attractive yellow.


Displaying 1 - 20 of 88 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort