- Author: Jennifer Baumbach
It’s like a rainbow of colors out there! As I look out my kitchen window, it seems overnight there was a color riot in the backyard! I have a lot of plants that flower from spring until fall, so I really enjoy the garden for those months of the year. In bloom right now are sweet peas, borage, ceanothus (Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’), a variety of sages, marguerites, daffodils, Lady Banks Rose, weeping butterfly bush-that’s just to name a few!
The benefit to having such hues in the garden is the wildlife it attracts. I see bees, birds, spiders, and cats playing in the jewel tones.
Just the other day, I was having a look at the backyard with a critical eye. I decided that I need to add more colorful foliage and movement to the yard. I plan on adding ornamental grasses and bronzed, variegated or other-than-green plants to my yard. Granted, the flowers are colorful, but the majority of the yard is just green foliage when the flowers are gone.
In the next few weeks I am going to Annie’s Annuals in Richmond and also a UC Davis Arboretum Invitational for Master Gardeners. I hope to find the plants I am looking for that will spice up the yard for the 'plain green' times of the year.
![Argyanthemum 'Lemon Sugar' (photos by Jennifer Baumbach) Argyanthemum 'Lemon Sugar' (photos by Jennifer Baumbach)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/USS/blogfiles/10897.jpg)
![A honey bee on Ceanothus 'Dark Star'. A honey bee on Ceanothus 'Dark Star'.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/USS/blogfiles/10898.jpg)
![Salvia 'Cabrillo Sunset' Salvia 'Cabrillo Sunset'](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/USS/blogfiles/10899.jpg)
![Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron spp.) Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron spp.)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/USS/blogfiles/10900.jpg)