Hello Carl and thanks for your question.

One of the best resources for determining what types of plants work best in many parts of the country is the Better Homes and Gardens Western Garden Book. This is the "bible" for many home and professional gardeners as it provides information about every type of plant that you might wish to buy, including best locations to plant the shrubs, ground cover and trees, and the type of fertilizer and soil that works best.

Depending on the area where you are proposing to plant flowers, I find that annuals (those that live only a short time and must be replaced later) provide the "showiest" and most colorful displays. Perennials, which can last from 3-7 years provide flowers during certain times of the year, and remain green and viable throughout the year. Some plants, such as Bouganvillias, Clematis and Trumpet Vines provide excellent blooms, but are best on a trellis. Ground cover perennials such as Gazania and Vinka Minor take full sun and provide blooms in many different colors, and can be "popped" in color by the addition of bulb plants such as Tulips. Society Garlic also provides great color with stalks of purple flowers and white frosted leaves, and can take full sun, but I find that the plants--like their garlic namesake--do have a pungent odor, so use these sparingly.

However, to get the best plan for your landscaping, start with the Western Garden Book for ideas, helpful clues on planting, and detailed plant information.

Good luck!!

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty

Hi Carl,

There are lots of variables here. Depends on how much space you have and size restrictions, color you're looking for, ease of care, ...

Here are some of my favorites and some tips on them:

Roses but look better with deadheading (removing the spent blooms) - various sizes and shapes, some are quite large.
Million bells- low maintenance; lots of colors to pick from, pinks, purples, whites, yellows, reds, apricots; only about 8" tall spreading to about 2-3 feet.
Agapanthus- great for this time of year as their flower stalks remind me of fireworks; purple, blue, and white colors; easy to care for; there is a small variety that get about 18" tall including the flower stalks or a large variety that can get to 3 or 4 feet tall including the stalks.
Zinnias - come in pinks, oranges, whites; you'll need to deadhead the old flowers but they are really cheerful looking flowers; my favorite has white flower petals with a dark golden (almost bronze) center.
Flowers you can cut and bring in as well but all of these need deadheading- Black Eyed Susan - yellow with brown centers. Shasta Daisy - white. Echinacea or Coneflower - there's a fuscia colored one or a white one.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but hope it helps. Feel free to write me with other questions.

Happy 4th of July!

DeeDee

The California state flower is the Golden Poppy. I see it growing in the vacant field across from my house mixed in with purple vetch without any tending. I will be following this thread closely for ideas as I have a freshly rototilled yard that I want to put easy maintenance plants in. We put in Geraniums, jasmine and honeysuckle before last weeks heat wave and they seem to be doing well.

Oh, there are so many to choose from. Perhaps my favorites are roses and coneflowers. But I also really like gerber daisies. They don't require a lot of fussing and are somewhat drought tolerant, too.

Greetings,
I am having really good luck with Russian Sage, Lavendar and Rosemary (look is less flowery and more hedge-like but the smell is AWESOME).

I'm also having good luck with my Hibiscus, Creopsis and Sweet Williams. My Dahlia's are not liking the heat so much. Marigolds are also doing very, very well.

I started a Pride of Barbados from seed but I think it's failure was my fault. Those are supposed to be tolerant.

If you would like some seeds I'm getting ready to collect from my deadheads, can drop them in the mail to you. See if you can make yourself a little mulch pile. It doesn't have to be massive, just a pile of leaves. My flowers and my wallet are loving it.

Happy 4th of July!

Hi Carl,

That would be the Sunflower.
Azealeas are nice