Hardenbergia violacea 'White Out'

This Australian vine-like shrub loves our climate and regularly produces a huge abundance of flowers every January.   That's if you don't prune it too hard.   Only lightly shear to maintain shape.   This is my first time with this white cultivar and it will eventually, next two years or so, climb this arbor leading to the upper terrace of this garden. 

Plant Profile: Plectranthus neochilus

This lovely aromatic Plectranthus is an easy, non-stop flowering perennial here in San Francisco.   It is not at all cold tolerate and will turn to black mush anywhere near 32 degrees F.  Most places it must be considered an annual. What makes this plant so spectacular here is it's ability to root anywhere, any time of the year.   I toss my clippings where ever I want it to root and establish and it does!   I got mine at Plectranthus neochilus at Annie's Annuals.

Here it is with Verbena and Nigella.

Plant Profile: Datura wrightii

Up next in my plant profile is Datura wrightii.   I got mine at Annie's Annuals.   My friend Frank calls it a ditch plant and I'm sure he is right.   It thrives in disturb, impoverished soil.  I let a few of the seed heads ripen and toss them about my garden   They will come up where others won't, usually dry, crappy areas.   The leaves are beautiful and is the main attraction for me.  The blooms only last a day or two but are beautiful too.

Plant Profile: Pericallis-x-hybrida-giovannas-select, Senecio stellata 'Giovanni' or Cinerarias???

I'm enjoying putting together the elements that make a beautiful garden in San Francisco.  This is the first in a series of plant profiles of those plants that do so well for us in San Francisco.  This is a good plant to start with as it may be endemic to San Francisco and maybe the greater SF Bay Area.

I'm talking about the delicate aster-like blooms of white-pink-blue.  I've only seen them in San Francisco gardens but never for sale in the local nurseries.  According to Pam Pierce, this Pericallis (Cineraria) has naturalized in the garden from the cultivars of several parent species from the Canary Islands.  Check out Pam's informative article on Cineraria.

Anyway it is beautiful.  Oh and it likes shade, either dry or wet, deep or partial.

10 Grey Plants for San Francisco Herbaceous Borders

How can I bring supportive light into my borders, containers and vignettes? Bright white, silver and grey foliage will support any color scheme by reflexing the ambient color of your vignette back to your eye. So what are some good plants for San Francisco?

1) Centaurea gymnocarpa 'Velvet Centaurea' - shrub, with Ricinus communis 'New Zealand Purple'
2) Ballota pseudodictamnus (False Dittany)
3) Onopordum acanthium - Need a character, a real prima donna. Likes to reseed.
4) Stachys byzantina - ground cove
5) Verbascum bombyciferum 'Arctic Summer' - specimen reseeder
6) Artemisia - shrub
7) Dudleya - Succulent for rock wall
8) Cerastium tomentosum - ground cove
9) Dymondia margaretae - tight low ground cover
10) Lychnis white flowered variety- annual (Playing a true supporting role to the Wisteria, Rosa and Iris. Mid-lower right.)