wicked green

Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’ aka Purple Aeonium The green center of these mostly purple plants create interest and contrast when it’s not in bloom and the bright yellow flowers add even more when in bloom. Best Feature:  shiny purple leaves with green center, bright yellow flowers, evergreen, low maintenance, relatively low water From :  Canary Islands [...]

Hesperaloe parviflora aka Red Yucca The gray/green foliage and the tall red/coral (though there are some with yellow) flowers are a really nice contrast. Best Feature:  tall, arching thin stalks of flowers in late summer to early fall, low maintenance, low water From :  Texas and Mexico Preferable Places : Sunset Zones 2b, 3, 7-16, [...]

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ aka Stonecrop (I’ve also seen this called Sedum telephium ‘Autumn Joy’) These perennial succulents provide great, bright color from late summer through the fall and interesting texture. There are a few variations in color from pink to red to orange. They need little maintenance and water. Best Feature:  bright flowers in late [...]

Senecio vitalis aka  Narrow Leaf Chalk Fingers (sometimes called Senecio cylindricus) This is a succulent perennial plant but I think that the delicate texture of the foliage make it more appealing and approachable than other succulents. It can cover an area as a high ground cover or can even be used as a houseplant. Best [...]

I have talked to several people who have visions of gravel and cacti when they hear “drought tolerant” , “low water use”, or “xeriscape” (some think this is zero-scape and I see the logic but it’s derived from the greek word xeros, meaning dry). But there are a lot of attractive plants out there that don’t need large amounts of water. There are plants that are native and therefore drought tolerant and even a few of these are quite attractive.