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Small Flowering Plants I-T

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Iris Douglasiana  Common Name: Iris Canyon Snow

Family: Iridaceae

Type: Small plant 1.5'h x .2'w

Flowers: March to April

Flower Color: White

Likes: Part Shade

Pure, beautiful flowers.  Flowers in spring, usually around Easter.  Less prolific than cultivated Iris but worth waiting for. Semi-Drought tolerant.  Likes some summer irrigation and can be incorporated into non-native gardens.

Iris (Pacific Coast)  Common Name: Pacific Coast Hybrid Iris

Family: Iridaceae  (Images)

Type: Small plant 1.5'h x .2'w

Flowers: March to April

Flower Color: Variable

Likes: Part Shade

Variable colored flowers.  Flowers in spring.  Hybrid of common Sierra Iris, found at mid elevations. Can use summer irrigation and be incorporated into non-native gardens. Can take some irrigation after established.

Lasthenia californica ssp macrantha Common Name: Perennial Goldfields

Family: Asteraceae   Images

Type: Herbaceous Plant, .5'h x 1'w

Flowers: Spring

Flower Color: Yellow

Likes: Part Sun

Rare.  Perennial goldfields is closely related to the slender yellow daisy that carpets dry places in spring. Wide green leaves form a tight cushion to 4″ high and 16″ across. Bright yellow flowers appear almost year-round. From the immediate coast, best with some water. http://www.seedhunt.com

Linum lewesii  Common Name: Blue Flax

Family: Linaceae

Type: Small plant 2'h x 1'w

Flowers: March to June

Flower Color: Blue

Likes: Full Sun

Nice accent plant.  Bright blue flowered perennial.  Long blooming period and very adaptable to different conditions.  Delicate narrow leaves.

Monardella villosa  Common Name: Coyote Mint

Family: Lamiasceae

Type: Small plant 2'h x 2'w

Flowers: March to July

Flower Color: Blue

Likes: Full/Part Sun

Small gray/green shrub with light purple flowers. A subshrub in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family. Flowers in summer.  Nice surprise when other natives are going dormant to have this one flower.  Used as a tea by native Indians for respiratory or stomach upset.   Supposed to taste like mint and has been used for sore throats.  Fragrant if rubbed or disturbed.

Winter / Fall
Penstemon azurreus  Common Name: Azure Penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae

Type: Herbaceous Shrub, 1'h x 2'w

Flowers: Spring to Summer

Flower Color: Lavender, Purple

Likes: Full/Part Sun

Low growing, medium sized Penstemon. Attracts butterflies and hummindbirds.  Flowers Spring well into Summer with moisture.  Plant as an accent or in small groups. May need late summer pruning after a few years.  Somewhat drought tolerant.  Tolerates some summer irrigation after established. 

Penstemon eatonii  Common Name: Firecracker Penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae

Type: Herbaceous Shrub, 1'h x 1'w

Flowers: Spring

Flower Color: Orange/Red

Likes: Full Sun

Low growing Penstemon.  Nice red/orange flowers.  Native to Southern Rockies.  In California found in Mono County.  Can use some summer irrigation. Nice perennial for accent or mass plantings.   Attracts hummingbirds.  Can take some summer water after established.

Penstemon heterophyllus  Common Name: Foothill penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae

Type: Herbaceous Shrub, 1.5'h x 2'w

Flowers: Spring to Summer

Flower Color: Blue, Purple

Likes: Full Sun

Perennial.  A favorite and easy to grow.  Nice, long flowering period.  Compact plant.  Versatile and attractive.  Can take garden water in a non-native landscape.  Great planted in mass or in a rock garden.

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Penstemon heterophyllus var. purdyi Common Name: Purdy's Foothill Penst.

Family: Plantaginaceae (Images)

Type: Herbaceous Shrub, 1.5'h x 2'w

Flowers: Spring to Summer

Flower Color: Blue, Purple

Likes: Full Sun

Perennial.  Typically grows in lower elevations. May be more drought tolerant.

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Penstemon pseudospectabilis  Common Name: Desert Penstemon

Family: Plantaginaceae

Type: Herbaceous Shrub, 2'h x 1'w

Flowers: Spring to Summer

Flower Color: Purple

Likes: Full Sun

Perennial.  Smaller Penstemon.  Very adaptable.  Native to Southwestern deserts.

Good as a single and grouped.  Very drought tolerant.  Needs good drainage.

Sisyrinchium bellum  Common Name: Blue Eyed Grass

Family: Iridaceae

Type: Small plant 1'h x .5'w

Flowers: March to July

Flower Color: Blue

Likes: Full Part Shade

Perennial.  Blue flowers.  Long blooming period and very adaptable to different conditions.  Delicate narrow leaves. Very nice accent plant between larger perennials or in a small native area. 

Drought tolerant but can tolerate some garden moisture.

Solidago velutina  Common Name:  Three Nerve Goldenrod

Family: Asteraceae  Images

Type: Small plant 3'h x 1.5'w, spreading

Flowers: Spring into Summer

Flower Color: Yellow

Likes: Part Sun

Late Summer bloomer.  Yellow flowers attract a wide range of pollinators.  Wid-spread throughout California.  Winter decideous. Tops die and resprouts in winter.  Slightly smaller that ssp. Californica

www.calscape.org

Thymophylla pentachaeta  Common Name: Five-needled Thymophylla
var. belenidium 

Family: Asteraceae

Type: Small plant, .5'h x 1'w

Flowers: Summer into Fall

Flower Color: Yellow

Likes: Full/Part Sun

Nice surprise.  Small flowering plant that will flower into winter with moisture.  Looks to be very frost tolerant - kept blooming when other plants flowers has froze.  Native to the Mojave Desert.  

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