Slow-growing, award-winning Dicksonia antarctica (Soft Tree Fern) is a semi-evergreen tree with a very attractive terminal rosette of gracefully arching, deeply divided, glossy dark green fronds, up to 10 ft. long (3 m). Its stout trunk is covered with soft reddish-brown hairs. Evergreen in mild climates, Dicksonia antarctica is deciduous in colder areas. Incredibly easy to grow, it has a strong architectural presence and makes a spectacular accent in gardens where winter hardy, and in containers.

Very slow-growing and long-lived, award-winning Cycas revoluta (Sago Palm) is a palm-like evergreen perennial with a very attractive rosette of shiny, arching, pinnate leaves, up to 2-5 ft. long (60-150 cm), atop a rugged upright trunk. Resistant to salt and drought, it can survive short periods at 15ºF (-9ºC). Popular as an ornamental plant throughout the world, it makes an eye-catching specimen and looks superb in a container.

Trachycarpus fortunei (Chinese Windmill Palm) is an evergreen palm forming a small tree with a terminal tuft of deeply divided, fan-shaped, dark green leaves, up to 3 ft. wide (1 m). They rise atop a stout trunk that is densely covered with hairy black fibers from old leaf sheaths. Wind, drought, and salt tolerant, Trachycarpus fortunei is quite cold-hardy and can survive short periods at 5ºF (-15ºC).

Agapanthus africanus (African Lily) is an evergreen perennial with showy rounded clusters of funnel-shaped blue flowers in early to mid-summer. They rise on stiff, upright stalks atop a dense clump of narrow, strap-shaped, linear, grass-like leaves. The foliage remains attractive when the plant is not in bloom.

Vibrant and handsome, fast grower and easy going, Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), is a popular annual plant that will both command attention in any landscape and reward you with weeks of blooms, from early summer until frost. Did you know that the flowers of Nasturtiums have an unusual and refreshing fragrance? Vigorously growing from 1-10 ft. (30-300 cm), depending on their variety, Nasturtiums are easy to grow, low maintenance and grown as cool-season temperate plants. Few insects or diseases bother Nasturtiums. Butterflies love them while deer ignore them!

A graceful and cheerful addition to the garden, Ipomoea x sloteri (Cardinal Climber) is a tender twining vine with delicate lacy foliage and fiery red flowers adorned with a white throat. Blooming profusely from midsummer to fall, the tubular flowers flare open at the mouth into deep red pentagons. They are an excellent source of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds. Each large, bright green leaf is divided into narrow lobes, giving the foliage a lacy appearance. Particularly vigorous and fast-growing, Cardinal Climber is fairly maintenance-free and is perfect to climb a wall or scramble through arbors and trellises. This plant does very well in containers too.

California Poppies (Eschscholzia Californica) are quick to bloom and ridiculously easy to grow. You will be charmed by their spectacular, billowing mounds of finely divided, blue-green lacy foliage capped with bountiful golden satiny flowers for weeks from late spring to early fall or fall through winter in mild climates. They come in a wide range of strong colors, such as creamy-yellow, scarlet, lilac, pink, and white. They are grown as annuals in cool weather areas or as short-lived perennials in hardiness zones 8 - 10. Fairly pest-free and low maintenance, they are heat and drought-tolerant. Will self-seed without becoming invasive.

Native to the Mediterranean region, Convolvulus cneorum (Shrubby Bindweed) is a small, spreading, evergreen shrub noted for its attractive silky, silvery-green foliage and large morning-glory-like flowers. Blooming from late spring through summer, it grows in a dense, flattened mound of narrowly oblong leaves, covered with extremely fine hairs, which remain attractive throughout the growing season. They are spangled by abundant pink flower buds that open to trumpet-shaped white flowers with yellow hearts.