California Plants

Growing Violas, also known as Johnny Jump Ups, is a real pleasure. This annual blooms from spring to early summer, about 5-8 inches in height. Although it can be bought in a pot, we would recommend starting it from seed, as we did in this photo. This hardy plant is great as a ground cover, and can grow in sun or partial shade. The flowers of this one in the photo are edible. Here is a yellow and purple variety, a blue variety, a unique yellow and black variety, and an orange and purple variety.

Violas also known as Johnny Jump Ups

Sunflowers are quite an amazing annual. They can grow in sunny, somewhat foggy, and partial shade areas. They can be anywhere between 2-14 feet in height, with one to ten flowers on a plant. They grow fast, and many tolerate substandard soils. They are also fairly drought tolerant. Many are so tough, wind does not bother them. They can be used for a privacy screen between your house and that of a neighbor. To do this, we recommend not just one row, but 2-3.

We recommend planting sunflowers in pots or a clearly defined area first. That way, when they sprout, they can be replanted to exactly their final location.

After a sunflower is done blooming, we recommend cutting the head and drying it to keep the seeds. Another way to keep the seeds for later growing is to put a thin cloth around the head and twist tie it. Or, of course if you like you can let birds eat the seeds when it is done flowering.

Below is a photo taken today in our San Francisco California garden. These sunflowers are 3-7 feet in height. They would have grown taller, but we experimented here with letting them all grow in small pots until they were 1-2 feet tall, and then planted them out. This meant they were used to being confined so now will not grow as tall. That is a good way if you like to control the size of your sunflower plants. Click here to see our favorite sunflowers.

One of Many Sunflowers Blooming Right Now in our SF, CA Garden

Sunflowers in our San Francisco California garden

The pink poppy in the photo below is about three and a half feet in height. Because I’ve grown this poppy in good compost rich soil, and only watered it every 2-3 weeks, it has become more drought tolerant. It gets about 3/4 a day of sunlight. Without a full day of sunlight it stretched up high to reach the sun at various times. This is our favorite poppy seed.

Tall Pink Poppy

Dwarf Sunflowers are terrific as an annual to grow each year in your garden, or to use as a cut flower.  These plants are easy to grow from seed.  They can flower quite early in the spring and due to their dwarf growth habit, they have strong stems which can hold up well in a bouquet with other flowers.  A dwarf sunflower generally grows from 1 foot to 2 feet in height.  The Dwarf Sunflower in this photo is about 16 inches in height.  These flowers are generally 3-6 inches in diameter.  Dwarf Sunflowers are great for borders, container use, or as cut flowers.  The seeds go very far with Dwarf Sunflowers.  That means a small number of seeds can cover quite a nice sized area. They can be sown directly in the soil in the spring after the last frost, planted in containers to later be moved into the garden, or even kept as is.  Dwarf Sunflowers like rich, well drained soil.  Dwarf Sunflowers do best with a good amount of water.  The best amount of sun for a sunflower is at least six hours, preferably a full day of sun. Dwarf Sunflowers grow best when fertilized. The Dwarf Sunflower in this photo is a few months old, from seed to bloom!

Three Month Old Dwarf Sunflower From Seed to Bloom

Lavender is one of the most aromatic,  rewarding perennial plants to grow.  After Lavender gets established it can be a wonderful drought tolerant plant.  The foliage and flowers of a lavender plant are usually nicely fragrant.  The flowers can be purple, white, or a combination.  Foliage can be green to silver to bluish.

A Dense Variety of Lavender

Lavender plants attract butterflies to the garden as well as bees and other beneficial insects.  Lavender plants like part or full sun, with six or more hours of direct sun being ideal.

Lavender with Tall Flower Spikes

For the first number of months that you grow Lavender, it is important to water regularly.  After the plant is established, a more arid dry environment is permitted due to the deep roots of the plant.  Lavender plants bloom generally in the summer.  Spacing between Lavender plants is usually best to be between 15 to 25 inches.  Lavender plants grow at a medium pace but can grow fast.  Generally Lavender will be one foot to 3 feet in height, and can be anywhere from 2 inches wide when young to many feet wide when established.  Lavender is generally not happy below 32°F.  It is best to cut back lavender flowers after flowering To promote more bloom.  It is not important to fertilize lavender, but some can be beneficial.  When planting use a porous mixture with compost, sand, and other well-drained rich nutrients. The average size of a lavender plant is about 3′ x 3′.

Lavender Blooming Like Crazy