A few years ago, I purchased a one-gallon plant from the Solano College plant sale. The label said Dorycinum hirsutum. I quickly planted it in my bare backyard and waited for it to grow. It's a slow growing plant and took several years to really show it's beauty and to reseed.

Hairy canary. (photos by Tina Saravia)

It doesn't require a lot of water. I don't have drip irrigation or working sprinklers in the backyard. Like any “drought tolerant” plants, it needs regular watering in the beginning but once it's established it can thrive with neglectful watering, or no watering, as in the case of the hairy canary clover, it's common name.

As its name implies, the hairy canary clover has fuzzy leaves. It is a low, sub-shrub perennial plant in theFabaceae family, the nitrogen-fixing family. It does not need extra fertilizer to survive as its roots fix nitrogen in the air. It blooms in the spring and attracts a lot of bees (and a photo-bomber chicken).

Here's a link to a more detailed description of this must-check-out landscape plant:

https://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=529