Var. in front of names in lower case refers to botanical varieties. Var. rubrum has come to be represented by multiple cultivars in western cultivation. These have cultivar names, presented within single quotes. This post was edited by bboy on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 11:41

Let's see, what do I have in my yard that's survived our summers: Manzanitas -- there are several varieties and one might be shorter. Ceonothus -- there are shorter ones Leucophyllum frutescans -- Texas Ranger -- once again, look for the shorter ones Polygala dalmaisiana -- Sweet Pea Shrub Hydrangea Arbutus unedo -- Strawberry Tree on dwarf stock? Oleander -- shorter kind Nandina domestica -- Heavenly Bamboo (the trick is to remove to the ground the oldest canes yearly; NEVER shear-off the top.) Feijoa sellowiana -- Pineapple (or Strawberry) Guava Euonymus --- various kinds Berberis thunbergii Citrus on dwarf rootstock

Irish, you don't say what your Sunset zone is so I don't know how these plants take frost. I'm in zone 17, coastal Northern CA (Oakland hills) so we get very few frost days. I like nice contrasty foliage combinations: chartreuse feverfew against dark green Rhaphiolepsis indica 'Ballerina' and feathery 'Johnson's Blue' geranium, for instance. Oxalis siliquosa ÂSunset Velvet' is beautiful (and non-invasive!) against Plectranthus, either the silver or purplish leafed varieties. You can see both these combinations on our Comcast website at the following URL (note: itÂs best to have broadband to access the Comcast site. However, the Yahoo direct link at the bottom is suitable for dial-up users): https://home.comcast.net/~j.komatsu/flower_photos2.htm (In the Flower Photos #2 group, the first shot is the feverfew combination. Click on the RH arrowhead button to reach the last photo, which is the oxalis/plectranthus combo) My Abutilon pictum 'Thompsonii' always looks best in the winter rains, although the cold really saps the Abutilon 'Savitzii'. Another beautiful plant is variegated Rhamnus, which has the added asset of being a relatively narrow vertical accent, which are very hard to find yet fit so well into our small urban gardens here in California. And if you have the room, Melianthus major has fabulous silver-green foliage! An absolutely outstanding, unusual foliage plant that brightens up our grey winter days is Lavatera olba 'Aureum'. It is a mallow, and the spikes of lavendar flowers are beautiful as well. The foliage is bright yellow fading gradually to chartreuse. It prefers a light to medium-sun situation, my front yard is west-facing and in summer it can get a bit toasted. Very drought resistant although scale can stress it in dry weather. Note that my property has very good drainage, so I don't know how it would react in clay soils. In the direct link at the bottom (our Yahoo album), in the set of two photos, you can see the chartreuse foliage best in the March 2004 photo. I regularly prune this plant down, it gets to a 4x4' mound. Looks great next to the purple-leafed Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum) I have next to it. Here is a link that might be useful:

Hello again all, yes thanks pm2 - I guess it is time for an update! After a late spring with much rain and cold in March, we are starting to dry out and get some sun and warmth. The daffodils are right on schedule, with the dogwoods maybe just a few days behind normal. The blooms are still a bit greenish but in a few days the hillsides will be glorious with white. The redbuds have been out for a week or so now, I just planted one in the front yard, even though we are surrounded by them in the woods, I just love them. There are bluebird eggs in the box on the top of the hill and today is in the 70s so all is right with the world! Because we've had such a long cold wet spring it's been hard to get into the gardens, especially with our clay. I dug out cannas I wanted to divide yesterday and they came up with clods of wet clay attached. Still a bit early to do serious digging. The front shade bed however was easier to dig because of all the compost I added last year so I did add some early color that it really needed. 'Chattahoochee' phlox and 'Woodside Gold' columbine went in to replace the anemones I lost last year to insects. The combination of tiny light pink flowers of pulmonaria, the baby blue of the brunnera, blue with a purple eye on the phlox, and pink and purple columbine make a lovely spring show. I had to watch where I dug however because some of the hostas are so slow to emerge and I risk digging into them. I have to remember to plant some bulbs around them so I don't forget where they are. As to the shrub changes, I moved the Itea to the woods garden after I realized it would take over and sucker in this small garden space. I replaced it with a Chamaecyparis Gold Mop which grows very slowly and will provide that gold foliage I'm looking for. The Sarcococca is kind of sitting there, it looks like it got a bit of tip burn, this area gets winter sun so it may not be happy with that. I never did get the flowers in January, unless I missed them. The Calycanthus is forming flower buds, I can't wait to see, and especially smell them. The clethra is still thinking about leafing out, it is alway late to do so. The spirea and the cornus are leafed out and came through fine, the loropetalum suffered some leaf dieback, but I just picked off the brown leaves and it is now leafing out to the tips. I may have lost the flowerbuds but I don't know yet, this is a new plant for me so it might just surprise me yet. I may have to move it if it gets too big which I'm finding out may be the case. I had to remove the large Foster's holly at the corner of the house as it was too close to the foundation and was beginning to heave and crack the brick so I lost some midday shade. I may move the loropetalum there and replace it with a shrub cutleaf japanese maple or maybe just some perennials. The Old Gold juniper is close by and will probably need the room eventually. I didn't know what to expect with the loropetalum as far as hardiness or size so I just plopped it in and am waiting to see. It's a great plant, the leaf color is terrific and if it blooms I'll get a great mass of bright pink. On the other side I had success with a large Kalmia Olympic Fire but a smaller one I planted next to it is not looking great. The Rainbow leucothoe is suffering as well, I did know they are fussy as to conditions so it may get the heave-ho. The pieris are doing fine as are the acuba. I lost all my azaleas to the Easter freeze last year, I had hoped they would bounce back but I'm going to have to dig them out and replace them. I did get rid of a large yew and replaced it with a Viburnum 'Conoy' which made it through the winter in fine shape and is forming flower buds now. It kept about half its foliage over the winter. It should eventually take the place of the yew and the strugging kalmia. I may add another one instead of replacing the three Glacier azaleas I lost and just replacing the Renee Michelle azaleas in front of it. By far my greatest joy has been the hellebores I added around the two Japanese maples. They have doubled in size and have been blooming since February. Last year they kept blooming into the summer and the foliage is evergreen. I can't say enough good things about them. As for the ferns, the lady ferns are up and the male ferns are thinking about it. I'll probably move the lady ferns to the woods garden, they are just so fragile and in late summer get a bit tattered, so not the best choice for a front garden. The male ferns were sturdy and held up well last year, but are a bit uninteresting. I'll probably replace them with Japanese painted ferns this year. I have quite a few in my back garden and they have done very well and provide that purple color I love. They are a bit more spready though where I could use some more height. I snapped a few photos yesterday of my fav plant combos in the shade bed. The dogwood is the crowning glory! Heuchera 'Amethyst Mist' and lysymachia Pulmonaria 'Mrs Moon' and 'Silver Indiana' heuchera Heuchera 'Frosted Violet' and Hellebore 'Royal Heritage' Heucherella 'Stoplight' and Asian ginger Pulmonaria 'Mrs Moon' and lysymachia Unfurling leaves of 'Minuteman' hosta Columbines Edging tapestry Phlox 'Chattahoochie' and Pulmonaria