Passionate Gardeners

Non-Stop Gardening Tips & Inspiration

Cuphea: Know this Easy, Flowering Plant Boasting Tons of Adorable Flowers!

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Cupheas, otherwise known as firecracker plants or cigar plants constantly surprise me with their ease of care and unique gangbuster flowers. Their flowers are tiny, but so abundant you see bright, cheery color at a distance. I would say for the Mediterranean climate garden, Cupheas with their tiny tubular hummingbird happy flowers, are an excellent addition to the garden or a container.

7 Variegated Succulents for your Garden!

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Hi there and Happy Fall to you! Hopefully, you’re still finding time to garden. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area gardening and planting is year round with mild winter temperatures making this possible. Today is October 12, 2020 and our business is off to plenty of planting especially in the next few months of Indian Summer, where particularly in SF we get some of our warmest temps. In this post I hope you enjoy seven statement succulents from the iconic Agaves to the very sweet Aeonioums. With stripped or marbled leaves variegation gives you many options in plant design,

Salvias – 10 Best Plants for Flowers, Fragrance, Hummingbirds

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There are 700 – 1000 Salvias, the largest genus in the mint family. In this post we’re focusing on TEN amazing Salvia plants (Sages) for your garden or container. Blooming as we speak (late August) and flowering like gangbusters much of Spring – Fall, this genus of herbal and ornamental plants is one of my personal favorites.

Variegated Foliage – A Simple Way to Add Contrast in Planting Design

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As you can see from the lead photo of this large hedge of variegated buckthorn (Rhamnus a. ‘Variegata’) variegated leaves can be a useful tool to add beautiful, easy contrast to your plant design. In this short post, take a look at the “hue effect” variegated leaves play in visual contrast to different leaf color […]

Lantana: Showy Perennial. Use as Trailers, Mounds, Low Shrubs and Topiary

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Lantana is a popular plant in the SF Bay area. Its staying power owes to its constant bloom, showy flowers, and the fact that this plant in all its forms is enjoyed by hummingbirds and butterflies for habitat gardens, and is a drought tolerant, happy plant, well suited to our Mediterranean climate gardens.

Real vs Fake: These Strong Forms Make Impressive Artificial Desert Plants + Cacti

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For a semi-arid touch we visited Sedona, Arizona. The plant palette going from Phoenix to Sedona included desert and high desert natives and was a good representation of iconic desert flora.
I found myself back from the trip looking at my Arizona photos because such nice memories before turbulence (Coronavirus + personal stuff) helps me feel better and is A HEALTHY ESCAPE.

Sedona, Arizona: How Home Landscaping Reflects the Natural Environment

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We’re just back from a week-long trip to Sedona, Arizona where arresting views of red rock canyons is a feast for the eyes and provides an incredible and unique backdrop for home owners. (Lots of photos below!!!) If you haven’t been to Sedona, this high desert paradise is a 2-hour drive from Phoenix (an easy […]