TREE: Pecan (Carya illoensis) can provide you with some delectable nuts and there are varieties that will work for you here in the northern San Joaquin Valley, if you have room for a backyard orchard. They will also provide fairly dense shade if that is needed. Planting two varieties will increase crop size because they will cross pollinate. However, Dave Wilson nursery offers ‘Mohawk', a self-fertile variety that is a good one for the home gardener. It is an early-maturing, vigorous, attractive tree that bears young and heavy. I have learned that seedling trees are not likely to produce many nuts or nuts of good quality. It is best to buy a known cultivar. One drawback is that squirrels like the nuts too, so if you have lots of squirrels around you will need to compete with them for the nuts. You may also have a problem of unwanted pecan seedlings popping up which have a deep taproot which can be difficult to dislodge without a shovel or trowel. Another drawback is that the leaves contain Juglone an allelopathy chemical toxic to other plants so its not good to plant in lawns like mine are. My lawn does recover, but looks unhealthy in the fall. The attractive foliage consists of distinct compound leaves. Nine or more leaflets are opposite each other with one terminal leaflet. For more information, click here.
PERENNIAL: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a delightful perennial that will be visited by butterflies and bees and also provide some long-lasting flowers for your garden border. It is also useful for there are several kinds of Lavender cultivars of differing sizes and attributes. One of my favorites is ‘Goodwin Creek Grey' which is a large lavender. Mine is about 3 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. The foliage is fragrant and exceptionally attractive and it blooms from late spring to fall. Another large one is 'Phenomenal' which is H 3 ft. x W 6 ft. It is billed as a plant that can handle hot summers and cold winters as well as having darker blooms than others.
Smaller lavenders are ‘Hidcote' H 24" x W 24" and 'Munstead' which is H 18" x W 24"' both bloom from summer to early fall. ‘Sarah English' is a little over 12 inches tall with flowers that are petite just like the rest of the plant. ‘Sarah English' makes a nice short hedge and it is also a good size for container planting. The flower receptacle is a dark purple which contributes to an overall medium purple flower color. Later in the season, you can gather the leaves and flower heads for scented sachets, pomanders and potpourri. There are many more lavenders including some that are pink and white as well as other species. Lots of lavenders to choose from that will add color and fragrance as well as fill in spots in your garden landscape.
BULB: Narcissus. This is a very diverse genus of spring bloomers, but the time to order and plant these bulbs is the fall. There are 13 divisions of Narcissus so there are lots of choices and even within each division there is usually a lot of variety. For more information on Narcissus classification, check out this website. There are so many places to purchase daffodils and other Narcissus such as local stores and lots of online purveyors. Some offer mixtures of early, mid season, and late-blooming daffodils that will spread the enjoyment over time. About 3 years ago I bought about 150 of a landscape daffodil mixture and used a bulb auger on a battery powered drill to dig the holes for planting. I have been enjoying their return each spring since.