Here's a great choice for that elusive 4-5' tall evergreen shrub! Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ smells great, is deer and drought resistant, pollinator-friendly, insect and disease-resistant, and is also a good firewise shrub.

One of the tricks in creating a drought tolerant garden is to select plants that actually thrive in our summer-dry climate, and this plant definitely fits the bill. Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ is a hybrid between C. ternata - which is native to Mexico (hence its common name) and C. arizonica – which is native to Arizona.

'Aztec Pearl' grows well in exposures ranging from full sun to half a day of sun. It looks handsome all year and especially when it is covered with clusters of fragrant white flowers in the late spring that have a spicy, citrusy fragrance like orange blossoms. Its five-fingered leaves have a wonderful texture that contrast well with rounded leaf forms or purple foliage. Plants generally reach 5’ by 5’ here in the Rogue Valley, but it is easy to tip prune them to keep them around 4' tall and wide.

‘Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ is hardy to near 0 degrees, under the right conditions. The key is to place it where it gets at least some winter sun, and make sure that the soil is well-draining and doesn't get waterlogged over the winter months.

Nepeta 'Junior Walker' is one of my very favorite drought tolerant perennials - and that's high praise indeed! Its aromatic, blue-gray foliage provides a beautiful contrast for soft-looking, blue-violet flowers. Plants generally begin blooming in early May, and will bloom well into fall if you shear them back after their spring bloom.

'Junior Walker' reaches about 16" tall by 30" tall at maturity. It does best in full sun and well-drained soil, and combines well with other drought tolerant perennials. It makes a nice accent in a summer garden; creating a nice cool place for your eyes to rest amidst the other hot-colored blooms of summer. 

Nepetas are also known as Catmints, and their foliage smells like mint with a warm hint of camphor. This aroma also serves another purpose in the garden: while it's really pleasant to humans, deer don't like the smell and tend to avoid the plants. 

However, the most notable feature of 'Junior Walker' - and of all Nepetas - is that they are absolute magnets for pollinators. Here at the nursery, it's not uncommon to find our Nepetas covered with a combination of butterflies, skippers, honeybees, bumblebees, and tiny solitary native bees. If you have really limited room for pollinator plants in your garden, put 'Junior Walker' at the top of your list! 

We also regularly carry these other varieties of Nepeta:

 Nepeta 'Purple Haze'- 'Purple Haze' is the shortest of the Nepetas we grow. They share the same abundant violet-blue flowers and aromatic foliage of 'Junior Walker', but plants only get about 4" tall at maturity. They're a great addition at the front of a perennial bed - or plant them to spill over a rock wall.  

 Nepeta 'Walker's Low'- 'Walker's Low is the tallest Nepeta of the group. Plants get to 24" to 30" tall, by about 36" wide. Like 'Junior Walker', it has a gentle mounding shape and combines well with other sun-loving, drought tolerant perennials like Salvias, Agastaches, Rudbeckias, and Gauras.

Anyone who has visited Shooting Star's demonstration gardens in spring has likely been stopped in their tracks by one of our favorite native plants - 'Emily Brown' Ceanothus - in full bloom and literally humming and buzzing with pollinators.

One of the common names of Ceanothus is "California Lilac", and it's easy to see why. 'Emily Brown' is covered with deep, blue-violet flowers in early spring, which contrast beautifully with its dark green holly-shaped leaves. Plants are fast-growing, reaching 4' to 6' tall by up to 12' wide. They're also extremely drought-tolerant, and won't need any summer water when established.

This is a showy, sturdy evergreen shrub that is a perfect choice for that place in the yard that doesn't have any irrigation lines running to it. The toothy leaves ‘Emily Brown’ makes it more deer resistant than its smooth-leafed cousins. But it will still benefit being protected from deer when young. 

Achillea 'Little Moonshine' is the yarrow you didn't know that you needed - but once you see it you'll immediately start thinking about where you can use it in your garden. Because, clearly, you DO need this delightful little plant!

As the name suggests, 'Little Moonshine' is a compact version of 'Moonshine' yarrow. 'Little Moonshine' shares the large, buttery-yellow flowerheads and soft gray-green foliage of its namesake, but only reaches 9" to 12" tall and wide at maturity. Flowering begins in early summer and continues through October if the spent flowers are cut back. Like most yarrows, 'Little Moonshine' prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Plants are sturdy and drought-tolerant when established, and attract a wide variety of pollinators. Their fragrant foliage also helps make them deer and rabbit resistant. 

Here's some fun plant trivia: Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War. He is said to have used yarrow to staunch the bleeding and heal the wounds of his warriors, so the genus is named for him. Achillea continues to be used as a medicinal herb today! 

If you're thinking of planting a pollinator garden this year, Achillea 'Strawberry Seduction' is a great place to start.

Achilleas (aka Yarrows) are incredibly sturdy, long-flowering perennials that thrive in sunny perennial garden. Low-maintenance, drought tolerant, pollinator friendly, deer resistant, and tolerant of clay soils (as long as they aren’t overwatered); there’s a lot to love about Yarrows!

While our native Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) has modest white flowers, Achillea ‘Strawberry Seduction’ features large cherry-red flowers with a yellow center. Flowers are offset by dark green, ferny/feathery foliage that has a pleasantly spicy fragrance. Strawberry Seduction has a gratifyingly long flowering season – generally from late May through September or October. Want to prolong your enjoyment of these lovely flowers? Consider growing them as a flower you can cut and dry! They hold their color well, and are a great choice for using in wreaths or dried arrangements. 1-2’ tall and wide.

Like most Yarrows, ‘Strawberry Seduction’ is drought tolerant once established, and is a great nectar source for pollinators; attracting a wide variety of insects including butterflies, native bees, and honeybees as well as beneficial/predatory insects like lacewings. They provide a reliable splash of long-lasting color in your garden, especially when combined with plants like Nepeta, Salvia, and Penstemon. Deadheading ‘Strawberry Seduction’ after its first flush of blooms will help you prolong its flowering season.

Once you start planting Yarrows, you’ll probably want to try growing other varieties as well. Here are a few others we carry regularly:

 Achillea ‘Pink Grapefruit’ – 2’ by 1.5’. Dusty pink flower heads fade to a soft rosy pink as the flowers age.

 Achillea ‘Moonshine’ – A bit different than ‘Strawberry Seduction’ and ‘Pink Grapefruit’ – Achillea ‘Moonshine’ has golden yellow flowers that contrast beautifully with its soft, grayish-green leaves. 18” by 24”.

Fun fact: Yarrows are part of a group of plants known as “composites”, because what looks like a single flower is actually a collection of many small flowers. In Yarrows, this is even more pronounced because the larger flower heads are composed of clusters of small flowers, which are - in turn - composed of groups of smaller disc and ray flowers. Next time you are out in your garden, take a moment to take a closer look!