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Beyond the practical advantages of covering the groundwater conservation, soil health, weed controlmulch contributes to the beauty of a garden setting. Spread beneath stems and branches, it highlights colors, shapes, and textures of foliage and bark.
There are several steps to undertake when laying mulch, some of them more strenuous than others, especially in large gardens. In expansive areas, it helps to approach this task in increments, rather than accepting a challenge of completing it in only one go-around.
Pennisetum orientale is one of the most graceful of all ornamental grasses, perfectly suited to our Sonoma County dry-summer, Mediterranean climate despite its origins in China, Southwestern Asia, and Northern India.
Achillea millefolium, called common yarrow, is a sturdy, carefree, and steady bloomer from late spring through fall in Sonoma Countys Mediterranean climate.
A member of the mint family (Lamiaceae, that also includes Lavandula and Salvia), Teucrium is a fairly large genus of evergreen or deciduous perennials, shrubs, and subshrubs that includes species ranging from low tufts to the nearly 8-ft. tall bush germander.
Berberis (barberry) is a genus of ornamental evergreen and deciduous shrubs that includes over 400 species, the majority of which come from the temperate zones of East Asia, the remaining from North and South America.
Ornamental blue fescue grasses have become a reliable accent in gardens, breaking up shades of dark green and inserting wispy texture in front of broad-leaved perennials and shrubs. All grasses in the Festuca genus are deer resistant.
Myrica californica, commonly called Pacific wax myrtle, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Pacific coast and coastal valleys from the Santa Monica Mountains north to Vancouver Island in Washington.
The genus Rhamnus includes about 125 species, but only two are grown with frequency in Sonoma County gardens: Rhamnus alaternus, Italian buckthorn, and the local native Rhamnus californica, coffeeberry. Many, but not all nurseries are now labeling some Rhamnus plants as Frangula.
