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:Mexican Bush Sage
Botanical name:Salvia leucantha
The Mexican Sage is a bushy shrub that grows 3'-4' tall and wide. It has hairy white stems, gray green leaves and velvet-like purple flower spikes that bloom summer through fall. This shrub tolerates sun, light shade, little water, and is hardy to 15 degrees F. The Mexican Sage is drought tolerant and attracts hummingbirds.
Designer: Owen Dell
Photographer: GardenSoft
Maintain a two to four inch layer of mulch on the soil surface to reduce weeds, infiltrate rain water, and reduce compaction.
Group plants in your garden according to their water needs (hydrozone).
Attract, or buy beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings to control pest outbreaks in your garden.
