Viburnum davidii

David viburnum is a dependable low, compact, shrub with gorgeous leaves and attractive flowers and fruit for almost year-round interest.  It tends to be evergreen but can be deciduous near the northern edge of its growing zones.  Plant several male and female plants to get good cross-pollination and you will have a great winter fruit display that will be relished by songbirds. Makes an effective hedge or natural screen, and can be planted in borders or along foundations.  It prefers sun to partial shade in moist, well-drained soil. Plant to protect from summer leaf scorch by giving it some afternoon shade in hot areas.

Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low'

Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low (Catmint) is a popular herbaceous perennial noted for its massive lavender-blue blooms on short spikes, atop aromatic, gray-green foliage in early summer, continuing on and off through early fall if spent flowers are regularly removed.

• A remarkably low-maintenance plant, this excellent performer is highly versatile and can be used in many situations: in the front of the perennial border, in rock gardens, or in naturalistic plantings. It is also great for edging beds or paths and even as a ground cover!
• Its noteworthy qualities have earned it many awards including the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society (2012) and the Perennial Plant of the Year Award (2007).
• Hardy, it typically grows in spreading clumps up to 2-3 ft. tall and wide (60-90 cm) in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils and thrives in full sun to part shade.
• A dry soil lover, it is drought tolerant. Humidity and salt are tolerant too!
• Attracts the energy of hummingbirds and butterflies but is ignored by deer and rabbits.
• Shear flower spikes after flowering to encourage new blooms.

Buxus microphylla

Japanese boxwood is a fine-textured, loose, and rounded evergreen shrub in the Buxaceae (boxwood) family that grows to 6.5 feet tall. Native to Japan, Buxus is the Latin name for boxwood or box tree. The common name of boxwood refers to the wood used to make carved decorative boxes. Another etymology is that boxwood describes the square stems of its young plants.  

This boxwood prefers moist, cool soils, so mulch heavily around the roots. Plant it in well-drained soil with a slight acidity to slight alkalinity and dappled to partial shade. It can be grown in full shade but will become leggy and sparsely foliated. Full sun may cause foliage to turn a reddish color. This is a slow-growing shrub and is sensitive to over-fertilization. New growth may be injured by frost. Once established, it is very drought tolerant. It is also deer, rabbit, and nematode resistant. Propagate by stem cutting; the plant also will self-seed in optimum growing conditions.  

Ceanothus 'Victoria' (California Lilac)

California Lilac 'Victoria', Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Victoria'

Regarded as one of the hardiest of the California Lilacs, Ceanothus 'Victoria' is a vigorous, bushy, evergreen shrub noted for its abundant clusters of brilliant indigo blue flowers in late spring and early summer. The flowers are so profuse that they literally cover the bush, creating a breathtaking floral display. The blooms are borne on gracefully arching branches clad with shiny, dark green leaves. Usually ignored by deer, this pretty shrub is prized by birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. A fast grower, this spectacular shrub is extremely drought tolerant once established. A great California Lilac selection for coastal gardens.

• Grows up to 4-6 ft. tall (120-180 cm) and 9-12 ft. wide (270-360 cm).
• Thrives in average, well-drained soils in full sun. Provide a sheltered position. Requires little or no water in summer. Drought tolerant.
• Excellent plant for sunny areas, ideal as a specimen plant, wall-side borders, banks and slopes, hedges and screens or planted in shrub borders. Perfectly suited to coastal gardens as this plant doesn’t mind salt-laden sea air.
• Easy to grow, this plant is difficult to transplant once established.
• Prune after flowering.
• Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings
• Watch for scale insects, honey fungus and Phytophthora root disease.

Berberis thunbergii (Japanese Barberry)

Berberis thunbergii (Japanese Barberry) is a compact, woody shrub with arching, slender, zig-zag branches bearing a single, sharp spine at each node below each rosette of leaves. The wedge-shaped leaves are untoothed, slightly blue-green to green to dark reddish purple, and borne in whorls or clusters. Some Japanese Barberry cultivars are spectacular additions to the landscape where they bring a strong color accent from spring to fall. Tiny, scented, pale yellow flowers appear in mid-late spring, but are insignificant in comparison to the beauty of the foliage. They grow in drooping clusters along the lower sides of the branches and are followed by an abundant crop of bright red berries in the fall. The fruits persist well into the winter. Attractive to birds, they often remain on the spiny stems after the leaves have fallen, therefore extending the season of interest of this ornamental shrub through the winter.

Berberis thunbergii is a popular ornamental plant and is present in gardens, parks, forests, and nature preserves. There are quite a few varieties used for ornamental purposes or as barrier plantings.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'

Lavender 'Hidcote' is a free flowering variety that is prized by most gardeners for its long-lasting and delightful scent as well as the fashion in which its dark purple flower spikes beautifully contrast with its blue-green evergreen foliage. Hidcote is a perfect choice for low hedges, edging or creating borders. Excellent for crafts and dried flowers as they retain their color.

• Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society
• Blooms once in late spring or early summer. Lavenders blooming once may have a second, smaller flush of flowers during the season and maybe a third one if the flowers are cut soon enough.
• Evergreen in warm winter climates, typically grows in a bushy shrub, up to 12-20 in. tall (30-50 cm) and spreads up to 20-24 in. (50-60 cm).
• This perennial is very versatile and can also be used in perennial borders, containers, rock gardens, or herb gardens. Provides a stunning effect in mass plantings. Its fragrant flowers may be dried and used in potpourris.
• Drought, deer, rabbit, and dry soil tolerant and a real magnet for bees and butterflies!
• Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats, toxic to horses.
• Thrives in full sun and performs best in dry to medium, poor, light, sandy, and well-drained soils. Excellent drainage and air circulation are essential, specifically in hot, humid climates.
• Trim back in spring to encourage bushier growth. Remove spent blooms to encourage new blooms.

English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), also called True Lavender or Common Lavender, is a type of lavender often associated with the famous purple lavender fields of Provence. Despite its common name, it is not native to England, but to the Mediterranean and counts over 40 different cultivars with flower spikes varying from blue-purple, lavender, violet-blue to white-pink. They create drifts of "cool" colors that sway elegantly in the summer breeze atop a beautifully contrasting gray-green to green-purple foliage of narrow leaves. Growing up to 2-3 ft. tall (60-90 cm), this Lavender type is great for formal or informal edging perennial along walkways, raised walls, and borders; also planted in beds, rock gardens, and in mass plantings. This is also the "queen of herbs" for herb gardens.