Common name:Catmint
Botanical name:Nepeta X faassenii

Nepeta faassenii makes soft, gray green, undulating mounds that are 1.5' high when blooming. The small leaves are attractive to cats. This perennial has lavender blue flowers in late spring and early summer.

Common name:Spanish Lavender
Botanical name:Lavandula stoechas

This dense shrub grows 2'-3' tall with blue gray foliage and deep purple flowers that have large showy bracts near the top of the spikes. It is drought tolerant .

Common name:Blue Sedge
Botanical name:Carex glauca

Carex 'Frosty Curls' is actually likely C. albula rather than C.comans but is well confused in the nursery industry. 'Frosty Curls' belongs to the group of New Zealand sedges that prefer well drained, drier conditions than other sedges typically prefer. If planted in inundated conditions, this sedge may struggle significantly. Otherwise, planted in groups or individually, it can be quite spectacular and carefree, providing foliage interest year round with light, almost silver weeping foliage.

Common name:Strawberry Madrone
Botanical name:Arbutus 'Marina'

The 'Marina' has gorgeous bark, with leaves that are smaller and not as glossy as Pacific Madrone. Its flowers are pink, borne in pendant clusters in the summer. The fruit is large, red and quite ornamental. The plant should be grown in sun to part shade, with little or no summer watering when established. The 'Marina' prefers good drainage.

Common name:Deer Grass
Botanical name:Muhlenbergia rigens

The Deer Grass is a warm season perennial that forms dense clumps from the base. The spike-like flower stalks grow 2'-3' tall and this grass has striking foundation form. The Deer Grass is native to California, is drought tolerant, and is a beneficial insect plant.

Common name:Mueller's Fescue
Botanical name:Festuca muelleri

This Central European native fescue has shiny, dark green foliage that is slightly bluish green. It is a cool season grass that grows up to 8 inches tall and equally wide. If massed together it can become a lawn alternative.

Common name:Gold Spot Euonymus
Botanical name:Euonymus japonicus 'Aureo-Marginata'

Growing to about 8' tall, this evergreen shrub has green foliage with yellow variegation.

The Magic of Mulch

In the natural world the endless cycle of birth, growth, decay, death and rebirth flows throughout the seasons. Plants die, leaves fall and new growth springs up in its place. Nothing is lost and the fallen leaves and dead plants decay into the soil, enriching it for the next generation of growth.

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