2018 garden in a box: Garden Info Sheet

Blue Queen SalviaLatin Name: Salvia x sylvestris ‘Blue Queen’Mature Height: 18-24”Mature Spread: 12-18”

Hardy To: 8,500’Water: LowExposure: SunFlower Color: Purplish-BlueFlower Season: Early to Late SummerAttracts: Hummingbirds, Bees, ButterfliesResistant To: Rabbits, DeerDescription: This beautiful ornamental sage adds lovely dimen-sion to any garden. These flowers spike up in tall stalks that have bright violet flowers clumped up and down the stem. These flow-ers are delicate in shape and form in pencil-thin rows. Below these large blooms is gray-green foliage that adds great color contrast. The bunches of these flowers are so dense that they often present a solid wall of color, making a phenomenal garden border. Care: This particular flower is not fussy about soil, and it flourishes best in direct sunlight with low amounts of water. Remove faded blooms to encourage repeat flowering in the same season. Pinch out growing tip when plants are 6 inches tall to encourage bushy growth. Remember to fertilize and deadhead regularly. It can be divided easily in the spring every three to four years in order to add even more strong brilliant color to your garden.

1 California PoppyLatin Name: Eschscholzia californicaMature Height: 1-2’Mature Spread: 12-18”

Hardy To: 10,000’Exposure: SunWater: LowFlower Color: Yellow to OrangeFlower Season: Early to Late SummerAttracts: BeesResistant To: DeerDescription: These silky textured orange flowers form a luminous four petaled cup. It grows in loose, free branching mounds with leaves that are finely divided and fern-like with a bluish-green hue. This easy-to-grow and resistant flower reseeds so readily that it is often found in wildflower mixes and needs little to no maintenance. It is an early bloomer, and greets spring from April through June with its cheerful golden blooms. Good soil drainage is essential for this drought tolerant perennial, making it a good candidate for garden beds, border fronts and rock gardens. It is not well suited for container gardens. Care: Dead head the spent flowers regularly to prolong blooming and clean up the appearance of the plant. Leave some spent flow-ers so the plant can re-seed itself. Due to their deep taproot, the California Poppy is not a good candidate for transplant.

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1 - Blue Queen Salvia2 - California Poppy3 - Dwarf Red Fall Aster

4 - English Lavender5 - Sideoats Grama Grass6 - Turquoise Tails Sedum

7 - White Dwarf Sun Daisy

Xeric Greatest Hits Plant as you wish! Plant by number design not included.

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Dwarf Red Fall Aster (or Alert Aster)Latin Name: Aster (Symphyotrichum) novi-belgii ‘Alert’Mature Height: 12-15”Mature Spread: 12-18”

Hardy To: 8,500’Water: Medium Exposure: SunFlower Color: RedFlower Season: Late Summer to Early FallAttracts: ButterfliesDescription: Adding outstanding color to any garden space, Dwarf Red Fall Aster forms a rounded clump of narrow, glossy, dark green foliage covered by densely packed clusters of crimson-red flowers. This North America native has an especially compact habit, makes a terrific accent to fall-blooming grasses and the changing color of trees, and makes an excellent cut flower. This beauty brings the gardening season to a dazzling conclusion in the autumn.Care: Give Dwarf Red Fall Aster plenty of room to grow - It is sus-ceptible to powdery mildew, a disease that can be prevented with good air circulation and planting in rich, moist soil. Pinch back new growth before July to maintain a compact cushion effect. Divide every couple of years to keep the plant vigorous.

3 English LavenderLatin Name: Lavandula angustifolia ’Munstead’Mature Height: 12-18”Mature Spread: 12-18”

Hardy To: 8,500’ Exposure: SunWater: LowFlower Color: Lavender-BlueFlower Season: Early to Late SpringAttracts: ButterfliesDescription: Scented, lavender-blue flowers on tight spikes thrust above evergreen, aromatic gray foliage, creating a compact clump well suited for perennial borders. English Lavender is said to be the hardiest of all the Lavenders, and it has been grown for centuries for its fragrant blooms and beautiful appearance. It is deer and rabbit resistant, it grows well in poor soils, and it is long-blooming. Hot, sunny, and dry spots where other plants refuse to grow are welcomed by this hardy, sun-loving plant. English Lavender makes a great dried flower.Care: This is a low-maintenance plant needing little care. Once established, it only needs occasional watering. Prune lightly in the early spring, no more than 4”. To shape, shear annually for a tidy and neat appearance and to encourage new growth. Soil must be well-drained to avoid any root problems. Can leave the plants untrimmed for fall and winter. For dried flowers, cut flowers when the first hint of color shows at the base of the spike.

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Turquoise Tails SedumLatin Name: Sedum sediforme ‘Turquoise Tails’Mature Height: 4-6”Mature Spread: 8-12”

Hardy To: 8,000’Exposure: SunWater: LowFlower Color: YellowFlower Season: SummerResistant To: Deer, RabbitsDescription: These lovely succulents add some amazing texture to any xeric garden. Their tail-like foliage adds a nice blue color to the robust, compact mounds that form great groundcover. It produces layered spikes of thick pad-like leaves, like many other succulents, that don’t grow very tall but instead grow thick. The Turquoise Tail also produces small, beautiful yellow flowers in the summer that sit on top of uprights stems. Care: This plant does best in drier, well drained soil that is mixed with compost or other organic matter to enhance nutrient content and percolation. In clay soils, it helps to add sand or gritty matter to loosen the area around the plant. This plant needs very little water, lots of sun, and can handle harsh winter temperatures with some hardiness. Reduce watering in the winter when the plant goes dor-mant. Turquoise Tails Sedum do not need pruning, and very rarely have issues with pests or disease. While it does take a while for the plant to fill in fully, it does propagate easily, and can be grown from cuttings or through division.

Sideoats Grama GrassLatin Name: Bouteloua curtipendula Mature Height: 8-24”Mature Spread: 8-12”

Hardy To: 7,500’Exposure: SunWater: LowFlower Color: GreenFlower Season: Late SummerAttracts: BirdsDescription: This clump forming, warm season perennial grass is named for the small, oat-like seeds that hang down from one side of the stem. Early to mid-summer produces bluish green leaves that fade to an attractive tannish hue in the fall. Seeds remain on the stems throughout winter, which provides birds of all species with a valuable food source and adds interest to the garden during the cold season. As one of the dominant species of the tall grass prairie and desert grasslands, this variety thrives in low water envi-ronments. Care: Sideoats Grama Grass is a low maintenance, fuss-free grass. It is tolerant to cold and drought and thrives in a wide range of soils. Re-seeding often occurs in optimal growing conditions. Regular maintenance is not required, but the clumps of grass may be cut back to the ground in late winter.

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White Dwarf Sun DaisyLatin Name: Osteopermum ‘Avalanche’Mature Height: 10-12”Mature Spread: 12-15”

Hardy To: 9,000’Exposure: Sun to Filtered ShadeWater: LowFlower Color: WhiteFlower Season: Spring to FallAttracts: ButterfliesResistant To: Deer, RabbitsDescription: This South African stunner hailing from the Drak-ensberg Mountains is a recent rediscovery of an old European Plant Select collection. The White Dwarf Sun Daisy features succulent-like, evergreen leaves and huge, white flowers. As a sterile selection, it does not set seeds, but puts all of its energy into producing many months of blooms. In spring it begins to flower and continues to bloom throughout the summer until the frost. Its carefree and vigorous nature, along with its drought tolerant and disease resistant qualities, make this Plant Select award recipient worthy of its title. Alluding to its Latin name, Osteopermum ‘Ava-lanche’, when the White Dwarf Sun Daisy is in full bloom it mirrors an avalanche bursting with white blossoms. Care: Tolerates most soils. For the first year, follow a regular watering schedule to establish a deep and extensive root system. Cut back by half in early spring before new growth sprouts. Once established, this perennial needs little care and only occasional watering.

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