Common name:New Zealand Flax
Botanical name:Phormium tenax

New Zealand Flax is a large, bold plant with stiffly vertical, sword-like, green leaves that arise from its base. It should be grown under full sun for best color. Varieties will offer different growth habits and leaf color.

Common name:Tom Thumb Flax
Botanical name:Phormium 'Tom Thumb'

Tom Thumb Flax is an excellent accent plant for the garden. Evergreen leaves are long, narrow, and grow upright. Clusters of flowers grow on spikes above the foliage in late spring and summer. 'Tom Thumb' is the greenest variety, with very narrow, red bronze edges on the leaves. Leaves are small, and plant grows to 18" tall.

Common name:Blue Fescue
Botanical name:Festuca glauca

This ground cover/grass will grow less than 1' tall and has small, blue green leaves.

Common name:Manzanita Emerald Carpet
Botanical name:Arctostaphylos 'Emerald Carpet'

The 'Emerald Carpet' is an evergreen groundcover that grows to 1' tall by 6'-8' wide. It is favored by many landscapers as the manzanita of choice for inland situations. It has dark green leaves and exhibits compact growth. This variety is relatively tolerant of adverse soil conditions.

Common name:Blue Star Creeper, Isotoma
Botanical name:Pratia pedunculata

Pratia pedunculata has bright green, nearly stemless, 1/4" leaves. In late spring and summer, these form a backdrop for equally tiny, star-shaped pale blue flowers.

Common name:Beach Strawberry, Sand Strawberry
Botanical name:Fragaria chiloensis

This perennial grows 4"-8" high with tooth-edged leaves and ornamental strawberries during the fall. Cut back or mow in early spring to encourage new growth.

Permeable Surfaces

If you have impermeable paving that you would like to make permeable, there are two main methods for doing so:
1. Break up hard paved surfaces to create spaces for water to seep through.
2. Remove and replace the surfaces with permeable paving.

Click in the green box for more information