A mainstay of Mediterranean gardens, Olea europaea (Common Olive) is a slow-growing, evergreen tree prized for its picturesque habit, gnarled trunk, silvery foliage and spreading crown. The gray-green leaves are silvery beneath and beautiful through the seasons. Very small, white, fragrant flowers appear in axillary racemes in summer. The fruit is a drupe, the well-known olive, that comes in many sizes and shapes. Long-lived and extremely resilient, common olive trees can be grown as informal trees or formally clipped standards. They make ravishing hedging and are tough enough to withstand neglect in containers.

Santolina or Lavender Cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus), a favorite of Mediterranean gardens, is a beautiful evergreen shrub noted not only for its dense, fine, silvery gray-green foliage all year around but for its drought tolerance. Blooming occurs in summer with a display of small button-like bright yellow flowers, but Santolina is mostly grown for its foliage.

Both useful and ornamental, Thymus 'Silver Posie' (Common Thyme) is a bushy dwarf evergreen shrub with a wonderful foliage of white-margined, aromatic, gray-green leaves with a hint of pink on the tips. In late spring to early summer, the plant is smothered in clusters of small, tubular, bright purple to white flowers that are attractive to bees and butterflies. Excellent culinary herb used to flavor chicken, fish, pork, vegetable dishes or stuffing. Can also be used as a ground cover in rock gardens or border fronts or for edging paths and borders.

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.

Dasylirion serratifolium (Desert Spoon) is a very ornamental evergreen succulent boasting a perfectly symmetrical rosette of long, narrow, prominently serrate, blue-green leaves. The leaves can reach 3 ft. in length (90 cm) and are adorned with feathery, tufted ends. The rosette sits on a very short and stocky stem felted with old leaves. In summer, it is topped with a dramatic flowering stalk bearing small creamy white flowers. The flowers are followed by small rounded winged fruits.

Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican Daisy) is a graceful, trailing, woody-based perennial noted for its endless production of small daisies almost year-round. Opening white, the delicate flowers turn soft pink, fade to purple and attract butterflies and bees. Hugging the ground, this charming groundcover forms a low mound of narrow, hairy, gray-green leaves. Its beautiful cascading habit makes it ideal for raised beds, walls, hanging baskets or containers.