Types of

Trees that grow well in California benefit from one of the most ecologically diverse states in the country, spanning fog-shrouded redwood forests along the northern coast, snow-capped Sierra Nevada peaks exceeding 14,000 feet, scorching desert basins in the southeast, and a long, mild Mediterranean-climate coastline that supports an extraordinary range of both native and introduced … Read more

Hollyhocks are among the most iconic cottage garden flowers, instantly recognizable for their towering flower spikes that can rise well above head height, lined with large, papery blooms from the base of the stalk nearly to the tip. Belonging to the genus Alcea, hollyhocks are native to Southwestern and Central Asia, particularly the regions spanning … Read more

Mimosa trees are among the most recognizable ornamental trees in the world, prized for their feathery, fern-like foliage and their fluffy, silk-thread blossoms that seem to glow in shades of pink, cream, and yellow. Native primarily to Asia, these trees have spread across warm and temperate regions worldwide, thriving in more than 70 countries as … Read more

Calla lilies are among the most recognizable flowering plants grown for both garden display and the cut flower trade, prized for their sleek, trumpet-shaped blooms and smooth, unbroken lines. Despite the common name, calla lilies are not true lilies at all, belonging instead to a separate plant family native to southern Africa that includes roughly … Read more

Ginger is one of the most important, widely cultivated, and commercially significant spice and medicinal plants in the world, prized for over 5,000 years across Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cultures for its extraordinary combination of pungent, warming, aromatic flavor and a remarkable range of documented health benefits. Native to southeastern Asia — most likely … Read more

Cosmos are cheerful, free-flowering annual and perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America, producing masses of daisy-like flowers in vivid shades of pink, red, white, orange, yellow, and bicolor combinations on tall, airy, finely divided foliage that gives the whole plant a delicate, meadow-like quality. With around 20 to 26 recognized species and hundreds … Read more

Azaleas are flowering shrubs belonging to the genus Rhododendron, a vast genus in the family Ericaceae that encompasses over 1,000 species worldwide. Azaleas were historically classified as a separate genus but are now recognized as two subgenera within Rhododendron — Tsutsusi (evergreen azaleas) and Pentanthera (deciduous azaleas) — with the majority of species native to … Read more

Galanthus, or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single small white drooping bell-shaped flower with six petal-like tepals in two circles. The smaller inner petals have green markings. Snowdrops are native to this region, with … Read more

Lantana is one of the most vivid, tenacious, and ecologically complex flowering plants in horticulture — a genus of tropical and subtropical shrubs whose extraordinary flower displays, exceptional heat tolerance, and remarkable wildlife value have made them among the most widely grown ornamental plants in warm-climate gardens worldwide. From the compact, mounding varieties used in … Read more

The Crabapple trees can be divided into two broad types, those typically grown for their fruit crop and those grown primarily for their showy springtime flowers. Crabapple fruit is green or red. Some species and cultivars have orange and pink blushes. The small fruits are 2 inches or fewer in diameter, and the tree leaves … Read more