There are so many that I like. I favor drought tolerant/heat tolerant plants that like conditions as they are in my garden, with little to no soil amendments or fertilizer, and onlly light watering. That means plenty of California natives thrive, along with my many species roses and European/Middle Eastern origin roses. A number of these plants, both roses and others, want to go summer dormant (and if watered and/or fertilized then they won't be able to rest and often will not flower the next year) as they would naturally in the areas where they are native. Of course this kind of care goes against the grain with lots of rose gardeners in mediterranean climate areas like mine, who are then surprised that roses in these classes won't bloom for them. Salvias are in general wonderful here. Salvia 'Celestial Blue' is a CA native and has the most gorgeous blue flowers. No pictures I've seen online truly capture the stunning color. Foliage is silvery and smells heavenly. Likes full sun, lean soil, and little to no summer water. Salvia dorrii 'Gayle Nielson'. CA native. Desert sage. Foliage is silvery grey green and delightfully scented. Heat tolerant and surprisingly shade tolerant too. Winter bloomer. Has pale lavender flowers. Since it is from the desert where sporadic rainfall may occur, this plant likes a few drinks in the summer. Salvia mohavensis. CA native. Newly-planted baby plants last month. I had to wait nearly a year to get them from a specialty grower. Mine haven't bloomed yet but the pictures online show small charming blue flowers. Salvia namaensis. Native to South Africa. Has delicate lacy, crimped leaves which are deceptive because this plant is as tough as nails. Extremely heat and drought tolerant. It has lovely small pale lavender blue flowers and blooms almost year round. I have never fertilized it and rarely water now that it is established. My soil is very sandy loam and quite lean. Salvia spathacea 'Avis Keedy' (yellow flowers) and 'Powerline Pink'. Both are very shade tolerant and actually need some shade and summer water (not a lot). Powerline Pink in particular has especially yummy smelling foliage (lemony sagey scent). Various Salvia greggii and Salvia jamensis or crosses of either or both. Including Salvia 'Hot Lips' (red and white or combination flowers), Salvia 'Elk White Ice' (pure white flowers, heavy bloomer in 90+ degree heat), Salvia 'Elk Lemon Light' (beautiful clear yellow flowers and bright green foliage, nice bushy shape, blooms well in high heat), Salvia 'Mesa Azure' (striking purplish blue flowers, heat and shade tolerant, stays bushy, branches stay flexible rather than going woody and brittle, long bloom period), Salvia 'Teresa' (prolific bloomer, very bushy, lush foliage a nice shade of green, heat and drought tolerant, pretty white flowers touched with pink), and Salvia 'Moonlight' (pale yellow flowers, shade tolerant, heat tolerant, stays small). Ceanothus. My favorites include C. spinosus (almost lime green stems and trunk, yep prickly spines, will tolerate some shade, dislikes summer water, grows quickly, pretty blue flowers, bushy), C. cyaneus (aka lakeside ceanothus, absolutely gorgeous 'cyan' blue flowers, wants to be a small tree, grows fast, likes some shade, will tolerate some summer water, very nice foliage, scented flowers), C. 'Lemon Ice' (variagated yellow and green foliage, blue flowers, will tolerate some shade and summer water, small to moderate sized shrub), C. 'El Dorado' (very similar to Lemon Ice, too new to comment on ultimate size), C. 'Diamond Heights' (groundcover!, needs some shade in high heat areas, variagated foliage, small blue flowers), C. 'Arroyo de la Cruz' (bushy and low growing, mine is in a huge pot in partial shade, and seems quite happy, small foliage, gets water once or twice a month in summer), C. arboreus (very fast growing, somewhat shade tolerant, will be a tree, does not like summer water). Mimulus, aka monkey flowers! I recently planted 2 and am closely watching their progress. So far they have bloomed heavily and appear to be settling in for the worst of the summer heat. I have M. aurantiacus (sticky monkey flower, peachy color flowers) and M. aurantiacus 'Buttercup' (orangey flowers, which I usually don't like, but I do this one). Eriogonum. Wild buckwheat. CA native. I have 3 different kinds, all very drought tolerant. E. fasciculatum 'Dana Point' (has the nicest foliage and prettiest flowers (snow white in color) of all the fasciculatums I've seen--has been smashed multiple times by my big dogs and keeps on growing!), E. parvifolium (seacliff buckwheat, mine has white flowers, but some, depending on grower and where they collected their mother plants, have pinkish flowers), and Eriogonum umbellatum var. polyanthum ‘Shasta Sulfur’ (very low growing, bright yellow flowers). Miscellaneous CA natives: Asclepias fascicularis (narrow leaf milkweed, very attractive foliage, food source for Monarch butterfly caterpillars) Erysimum menziesii (menzies wallflower, in a pot and very happy) Monardella antonina (coyote mint) Monardella odoratissima Monardella 'Russian River' Isocoma menziesii (golden bush) Penstemon 'Margarita BOP' Penstemon grinnellii Penstemon 'Electric Blue' Penstemon azureus Penstemon spectabilis Lotus scoparius (deerweed, nitrogen-fixer, yellow flowers) Olneya tesota (ironwood, a nurse plant as it is a nitrogen-fixer, eventually a small tree, but so slow growing that will take many years, now a tiny shrub, gets small pea-like violet flowers) Helianthemum scoparium (the only CA native rockrose/sunrose, bright yellow flowers) Lonicera subspicata (southern honeysuckle, likes to grow in chaparral, white and pale yellow flowers) Arctostaphylos purissima 'Vandenberg' (a groundcover manzanita with fuzzy white hairs on the stems and snowy white flowers--needs afternoon shade in hot inland areas) Not a shrub, but I have interplanted with them multiple of the CA native, sun-loving, and very drought tolerant grass Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' (eyebrow grass, and the "eyebrows" are blonde). It's a very feathery and delicate looking grass, really lightens an area. Photo is of Salvia namaensis. Melissa This post was edited by Tessiess on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 18:26

Hi Strawberryhill, I have two Stephen's Big Purple bushes on multiflora and they are doing fine in my alkaline soil, much better than certain others on multiflora that still show some chlorosis early in the season. In fact, SBP has never been chlorotic at all. Oddly, the most chlorotic rose in my garden for the past two years is Frederic Mistral grafted on Dr Huey. I love this rose, but I've about had it with the yellow leaves, thrips galore, and late blooming due, I guess, to chlorosis. Back to this thread's topic--I think Ascot is almost raspberry with its dark red blooms that have a slight undertone of purple. It's not quite as bright as what I think of as raspberry. It has been a great rose so far, and it's on multiflora, too, but with no chlorosis. Diane

Sorry, but not all fuchsias are seasonal plants. Some, especially those of the species magellanica, are quite hardy to zone 6 and in warmer zones become small to medium sized shrubs. 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt' is of the triphylla group, which tends to be hardier than most common garden hybrids - the "hanging basket" type fuchsias that are typically sold as annuals. It is certainly fully hardy in San Diego and grows there well. FWIW, it could be in bloom a large part of the year if given the right care. It would prefer a rich, organic soil and even and consistent moisture - not happy if allowed to dry out. It can grow easily in full sun if in a coastal setting (like San Diego) but better in part (afternoon) shade in an inland setting. And no worries about heat :-) Fuchsias for the most part are tropical and semitropical plants and thrive on heat - this type is often referred to as a 'Bolivian' fuchsia, although it is native to the Carribean. It will tolerate temps as low as 20F for a brief period, although should receive some protection in colder weather -- not sure how critical that would be in SD :-)) If the plant becomes too leggy, you should cut it back. This will result in more compact growth and increased flowering. Regular fertilizing with an all-purpose liquid (MiracleGro will work fine) during the primary growing season will be appreciated.

You might consider plants from the American Southwest or northern Mexico as good plants to try. Agave parryi immediately comes to mind, and other dramatic succulents such as Dasylirion wheeleri or D. longissisma are dramatic accents. Hesperaloe parviflora is good in your conditions, and the various Leucophyllum species can be spectacular in bloom, especially if you do get some occasional summer rain, which triggers many into blooming. Other accents might include palms such as Brahea armata Some of the more colorful groundcovering plants might include Salvia greggii, various Dalea species such as D. pulchra or D. greggii,Verbenas such as V. rigida, Oenothera berlandieri, Stachys coccinea, and Zauschneria californica. If you are into cactus, Opuntia violacea Santa Rita is a fabulous purple foliage color, and O. basilaris is also nice and manageable. Several of our native grasses such as Muhlenbergia dumosa, M. rigens, and M. linderheimerii are good choices Our ndesert native Mallow, Spharalcea ambigua is also great in both heat and winter cold. You might find it interesting to look for the book called "Low Water-Use Plants for California and the Southwest, by Carol Shuler, or visit the web site for Mountain States Growers Nursery in Arizona to get more info on some of the plants I've mentioned. Unfortunately, you are too cold in winter for using some of my favorite Mexican and South African succulents as hardy garden plants. Most of the succulents I use in various garden designs here in the San Francisco Bay Area are only hardy with light frosts, not severe ones. You might also find it instructive to look at the web site for the Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek, California. This garden uses many plants especially adapted for dry summer heat and regular winter freezes, but also takes protective measures to build winter structures to allow growing those plants that aren't fully hardy to the area, which can get down to 14F in winter, as compared to minimums of only 24F in my more coastal influenced Berkeley garden.