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.
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 centranthifolius Common Name: Scarlet Bugler
Family: Plantaginaceae, Images
Type: Herbaceous Shrub, .5'h x 1.5'w
Flowers: May to June
Flower Color: Red
Likes: Full Sun
Perennial. Nice red/orange flowers. Easy to grow compact plant. One of the smaller Penstemons that flower spring to summer.
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 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.
Salvia spathacea - Las Pilitas Common Name: Hummingbird Sage
Family: Lamiaceae
Type: Shrub, 1'h x 2'w - spreading
Flowers: Spring to Fall (dependent on moisture)
Flower Color: Magenta
Likes: Full Sun
Selected by Bert WIlson at Las Pilitas. Low growing spreading, perennial, aromatic sage. Unique flowers on 1-2' spikes. Attracts hummingbirds. Nice fill-in between larger sages or shrubs. Frost will damage flower but not foliage. Very adaptable, easy to grow. Drought tolerant. Can take some summer irrigation.
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
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.