Common name:Blackfoot Daisy
Botanical name:Melampodium leucanthum
Small mounding perennial grows quickly to 1' x 2'. White daisylike flowers with yellow centers cover the plant nearly year-round The leaves are narrow and gray-green. Accepts full sun or partial shade but blooms better in the sun. Bright and colorful groundcover. Plant in well-drained soil. Native to the southwest U.S. and Mexico.
Common name:Ferned-Leaved Tickseed
Botanical name:Bidens ferulifolia 'Goldmarie'
Tickseed grows 14'-18" tall. It is a heat tolerant variety that is perfect for cascading, bright color in baskets, containers, and window boxes. Finely divided foliage is covered with gold, single flowers. It blooms until first frost. Plant in full sun. It needs well-drained soi.
Common name:Coral Fountain, Firecracker Plant
Botanical name:Russelia equisetiformis
This heavy blooming shrub is from tropical Mexico. Coral Fountain can reach a mature size of about 5' tall and wide in frost-free climates. In colder climates, foliage will die back at freezing, but the plants will survive all but a hard frost. This is an excellent plant for containers, so plants can be moved to a sheltered location in winter for frost areas.
Common name:Yellow Bulbine
Botanical name:Bulbine latifolia
This clumping ground cover grows 1' tall and 1'-3' wide. It produces 12"-18" flower stalks that bear clusters of small yellow flowers almost all year. Succulent evergreen leaves are fragile, so locate away from foot traffic. Growth habit is not very tidy whereas the orange cultivar 'Hallmark' is a bit more so. This So. African native blooms most heavily in spring and fall with sporadic spikes in summer. It is also a good container plant and for erosion control.
Designer: Susan Trindle
Photographer: GardenSoft
Practice grass-cycling by leaving short grass clippings on lawns after mowing, so that nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil.
Adjust sprinklers to avoid watering sidewalks and driveways.
Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.