California-based grower Monrovia is always a good source of exciting landscape plants. Here are some choice selections - all drought-tolerant once established - for fall planting. Look for them at Armstrong Garden Centers and other specialty nurseries.
- ‘Little Ollie’ Dwarf Olive (Olea europaea) - Add Tuscan flair to a small garden or patio with this evergreen shrub that grows 4-6 feet tall and wide. Narrow dark green leaves; non-fruiting. Pairs well with lavender, rosemary and other Mediterranean classics. Sun.
- ‘Winter Bee’ Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas) - Dense and floriferous, this Spanish lavender is covered April through July with fragrant dark purple flower wands topped by wing-like bracts. Grows 2 feet tall and up to 3 feet wide. Sun.
- ‘Cimarron’ Texas Ranger (Leucophyllum zygophyllum) - This tough shrub is a beauty too, with silvery gray-green foliage and lavender-blue flowers in spring and fall. Compact; grows 3 feet tall and wide. Sun.
- ‘Hearts of Gold’ Redbud (Cercis canadensis) - The popular ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud has a competitor with this first gold-leafed redbud. The show starts with red-purple flowers in spring before the deciduous tree leafs out. Shaded leaves turn green. Grows to 15 feet tall. Little water once established.
- ‘Baby Bliss’ Flax Lily (Dianella revoluta) - Foliage blades are blue green on this modest-sized option to over-worked phormiums. Pale lavender flowers in spring are followed by berries. Grows 12 inches tall. Tolerates poor soil and salt spray. Sun to part-sun.
- Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia ‘Purpurea’) - Foliage is also the star on this shrub that grows 6-8 feet tall and wide. Leaf tops are a purple-tinged green and undersides are an eye-catching lilac. Small lavender flowers appear in late summer. Thrives along the coast and inland.