Our Garden

Ongoing Project To Identify Our Plants

Our backyard was graced from the previous owner with a landscaper's dream of plants, flowers, bushes and trees. Unfortunately we have no idea what most of them are. So this is a project of photographing and identifying all our plants.

I have been told we have:

Miscanthus Grass (Miscanthus sinensis?) - A drought-tolerant perennial that is used as an ornamental grass (but it also referred to as invasive).

Summer

Spring

Jupiter's Beard (Centranthus ruber) - It's a red perennial that flowers early to late summer, growing up to 2' tall and likes full/partial sun. It's recommended to cut off the flower stems when they've finished blooming to encourage more growth. It's also called 'red valerian' and may be invasive on the west coast.

Before Blooming

Hen & Chicks (Echeveria) - These drought-tolerant perennials are planted alongside our backyard pond, and are supposed to do best in well-drained, rocky soil in sun or light shade. They're quite cute, with the main plants ("hens") and the little baby offspring ("chicks"). They are succulents and look like teeny little cacti.

Phlox (Phlox) - A lovely little perennial that blooms in spring with 1-inch flowers in 5-inch clusters. Supposed to be attractive to butterflies. Prefers light shade.

Coral Bells (Heuchera micrantha) - Drought-tolerant perennials with a lovely, delicate scarlet flower that blooms June-August. It's a native North American wildflower.

Pfitzer's Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) - A lot of our backyard consists of this gray-green spreader juniper. It's a male clone, so it doesn't bring forth juniper berries. It was introduced to North America in 1901 and is thought to have come from China or Mongolia originally, and can take an "extreme amount of heat, cold and drought conditions".

Allium (Allium giganteum) - This perennial is a relative of the onion family, and has a pretty purple puffball shape. It grows several feet tall and is very striking.

In Bloom

After Bloom

Autumn Joy (Sedum telephium) - A perennial that grows to about 2-3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, it flowers July through fall. The flowers start pink but turn a deep rust-red in autumn.

Blue Mist Spirea (Caryopteris) - A perennial border plant with blue 1-foot long flower spikes that bloom in late summer. It prefers full sun.

Lamb's ear (Staccyhs?) - A drought-tolerant perennial with soft, silver-gray foliage. It has square stems and opposite leaves with flowers in July-August.