Silver Broom.  Uncommon xeric shrub endemic to the Sierra Nevada Mts of Spain.  This member of the Fabaceae family is fab indeed with pale flaking bark, silver-green needle-like leaves and sprays of soft yellow flowers.  Pretty awesome and locally grown to perfection at the Heg and Barca gardens on Whidbey Island.

Quirky little evergreen vine from the Mediterranean that brings delight far out of proportion to the size of its flowers. Small curved pipe-like flowers are a subtle burnished pale flesh on the outside accented by thin reddish lines.  The flared pipe bowl is a perky yellow with faint lines in the back of the throat and a rim of umber, delicately whiskered.

A perennial (usually anyway) thistle relative from South Africa which makes a multicrowned clump of softly spiny leaves which by themselves merit nothing more than a good hosing of Roundup but the large purplish flowers are the swan emerging from the ugly duckling.

Bottlebrush.  Perhaps the hardiest clone enduring single digits with scarcely a whimper.  (It may be whimpering but my own wails of despair drown all else out).  Evergreen picking up russet tones in winter.  Summer fuzzy red flowers on the stems.  Deer Proof/drought tolerant.

Bush Anemone,  A rare California native known from just seven sites in eastern Fresno Co., this is related to Mock Orange and is a glorious thing in flower and even more so in this selection as the 2" flowers while smaller than typical have more to a flowering cluster making this a standout among Carpenteria.

A Ron Ratko collection of this shrubby gem that flies under everyone's radar.  Native to ID, OR and the SW, we saw this in the White Mts growing with the ancient Bristlecone Pines.  Like a shrubby Spiraea but with white Potentilla-like flowers highlighted by yellow anthers.  Lacy moth antennae leaves.  Dry and well-drained.

Striking blue flowers emerging one per day from clusters of buds held in a clasped purse=like sheath.  The flowers open in the morning and close in the afternoon.  The purity of blue is unrivalled.  Loves full sun and fairly drought tolerant and reseeds nicely to create a showy clump.

Pink Lily of the Valley.  Sweet.  Charming pink form of an old fashioned standby.  Nice spreader for the shade garden and quite drought tolerant when established.

A fun double flowered selection found by Frank Dorsey on Mt Townsend in the Olympics.  The venerable parent plant is on the windswept ridge just several inches high but follows crevices in the rock to creep several meters.  Drought tolerant.  This will have the odd single flower as well. Used to be Potentilla.

Zone 5 hardy Ice Plant which arose as a spontaneous hybrid seedling in Denver and was named for our friend Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator at Denver Botanic Garden and great guy at a party.  Key here is great drainage for our winter wet.  Lean, sandy soil and a gravel mulch is a good idea. Flowers the color of thin-sliced backlit salmon Lox.

This is way too hot to be called an Ice Plant.  Scarlet flowers scorch the foliage in summer and blaze with nary a care.  Great sidewalk edger, rockery or container plant especially for those of you who delude yourselves into believing you really will water your containers. It's xeric.

Fine perennial that is perfect for that hot sunny spot.  We saw this grown to perfection in Denver where it made nice clumps in various xeric gravel gardens and commanded attention with its spikes of russet red flowers like some compact Liatris.  Hardy to zone 5 and will bloom all summer if deadheaded but we like to let some seed ripen.

Rock Fleabane.  A mighty mite in the Asteraceae family, this rock crevice dweller was not discovered until 1978 in the Chiricahua Mts in Arizona and later was found 200 miles east in the Black Range of New Mexico.  It has been very easy and rock hardy for us and although drought tolerant, adapts to frequent irrigation.  Small white flowers.

A super xeric introduction by the Plant Select program which is a joint venture by Denver Botanic Garden and Colorado State University trying to find great plants for the Rocky Mountain states.  This takes serious cold, heat and dry. has long lasting yellow flowers fading orange and is deer proof.

It seems most Erodium chrysanthum in cultivation are hybrids which isn't surprising considering the promiscuous nature of Geraniaceae plus if you're a nursery, you are going to choose the most vigorous to propagate which can mean it's a mutt.  This is likely a hybrid in the Erodium x lindavicum complex from Greece.  Dry and sunny.

One of the great common names, Rattlesnake Master, which refers to historic usage for treating rattler bites. Strap-like, Yucca-like, Mediterranean-like leaves can get like 3' long - don't worry - not going down the Valley Girl path - and the tall 4'-6' flower stems with small balls of greenish-white flowers add summer drama. Full sun, leaner soil average to dry. Zone 3-8.

Very compact Escallonia to the point of being formal tidy buns.  I don't often go for tidy or formal buns, usually am more intrigued by wilder more free-form buns but this is the exception.  Just 2' high and 3' across with medium pink flower in June and sporadically after.  Evergreen, drought tolerant.

Exceptional selection of this cross between Garrya elliptica and G. fremontii from Glasnevin in Ireland.  What is notable about this is the long late winter catkins have conspicuous wine-colored bands.  We're talking Pinot Noir here not Pinot Grigio.  As a bonus, the stems are dark colored as well.  Winter interest, anyone?

This rugged South African is sun, wind and drought tolerant and absolutely hardy in the PNW.  One of the most admired plants in our border for its profuse display of large yellow to orange daisies on low stems.  Good drainage.

Winged Broom.  Superb shrublet from the Balkans down in to Greece that has distinctive flanged leaves and stems.  This is a low growing very dense small scale groundcover and takes full sun and poor soil while being tolerant of drier conditions.  In late spring, smothered in yellow flowers.  We have a dandy one under our palms by the gate.

A white flowered variant of this familiar Geranium whose flowers are backed by a green calyx rather than pink which adds to its overall indispensable lightness of being. The paler than normal green leaves accentuate this and makes this valuable for brightening a somber corner or tempering hotter colors.  Takes dry shade - very tough.

We acquired this incredibly tough, tuberous, summer dormant Geranium in the 80's from East Lambrook in southern England which was home to Margery Fish and the original English Cottage Garden.  Provenance alone is merit enough but good lavender blue flowers and drought tolerance carries the day.

Officially Xeric Awesome Perennial. Seeds we got from Panayoti Kelaidis' home garden in Denver. This has rosettes of foliage which erupt in early summer to 2'-3' branched displays of orange to yellow poppy flowers. Nifty seed pods too. This really wants good drainage and hot sun and you will be smitten by the Horned Poppy.

Heart-leafed Globe Daisy. Pleasing little alpine from the mountains of southern Europe and Turkey. Low and slowly spreading domes like a small overturned pie with evergreen leaves and lavender-blue pom-pom flowers on short stems. Easy and tough enough for a beginner, sweet enough for the rock gardener who has grown it all.

We saw this at the O'Byrne's in Eugene and Plant Lust caused our pollen to shed and our stigma's got a bit sticky. It is so embarassing but Ernie and Marietta are used to it. Completely hardy here and clothed in small white crinkled fragrant flowers in Apr-May. Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Rio Grande Rain Lily.  This has the cheeriest yellow flowers with burnt orange streaking which appear without leaves in late summer to early fall with the onset of fall rains if grown in a sunny dry spot.  These get 6" tall but are wicked cute and will self sow to make an enviably vibrant patch in time.  Native to the Southeast and Mexico.  Zone 7.

Toyon or Christmas Berry.  This is a favored California native for its profuse display of red fruits during winter especially at Christmas.  Evergreen shrub with small scented white flowers in May and June.  This wants good drainage and deep but infrequent watering.  We selected this as a survivor among hundreds of winter-killed seedlings.

Algerian Iris.  Nothing like this evergreen Mediterranean prize.  This blooms depending on the weather as early as November but generally the main flowering is in February with short-stemmed good-sized light lavender blue flowers.  We cut the leaves back to 6" in Nov to best see the flowers.  Newly potted strong divisions.

Choice and rare (key elements for us!) succulent from the Steenkampsberg in Mpumalanga where it grows a in gritty humus among granitic outcrops and experiences occasional snowfall.  This was first described in 1995 so is new on the scene although the roots have long been used to boost the kick in tribal brews.  Pink flowers.

Gray's Desert Parsley. A familiar plant east of the Cascades where it likes the rockier areas which are moist in spring. This has starburst umbels of yellow flowers in March held over a near-froth of very finely dissected foliage, less than 18 inches tall.  A tough, summer dormant, drought tolerant native perennial well-suited for the rock garden, xeric meadow or hell strip.