Plants that Naturalize

As promised,  this post is all about plants that naturalize or multiply.  With these plants you will never have to buy again.

Cerinthe Major or Honeywort below just needed to be planted once and let the seeds spread once the plants die at the end of spring. In late fall here in Southern California, the seedlings come up all around the mother plant. I usually dig them up and re-planted them in other parts of the garden. They have lovely leaves and awesome purple/blue clusters of bell-shaped flowers.

These “Caribbean Cocktail” nasturtiums took over this whole area. Under these leaves are large seeds that can be planted elsewhere. They don’t care if you don’t cover them up or give them water regularly.  The leaves and flowers are edible but I don’t like the taste.

Aeonium “Kiwi” are these adorable green and yellow succulents.  If they get more sun exposure they change to orange and pink colors.

These kalanchoe succulents are one of my favorites! I love their colors. They tend to bloom in winter and grow on branches unlike other kalanchoes that grow flowers from fleshy leaves.

Borage re-seeds like crazy! The very first seed was planted about 3 years ago. They sprout everywhere in all seasons. This one grew from last summer. It swallowed up my dormant hibiscus underneath.

The leaves are scratchy, delicious, and dinosaur-large. I imagined large dinosaurs eating these and not be bothered by the spiky hair on its leaves. I do enjoy snipping these off the plant and munch on them while I’m outdoors.  Some other creatures must be liking them too because the leaves are always chewed off.

Borage have beautiful blue and sometimes pink flowers.  They are usually in full bloom in the spring.

Bearded irises are great spreaders too. New bulbs magically appear next to the mother plant each year.  They are so easy to grow. I have many in my garden that I am waiting to bloom for the first time this year.

My Yellow Jessamine vine flowers in late winter and our Asian culture love to display them in the homes around the Lunar New Year.  The branches grow long but if it touches the ground, then it grows roots.  I dug this one out once it rooted and cut it off from the mother plant.  I have two of these baby plants in other parts of my yard.  They brighten up the winter days for sure!

A few days ago we had a terrible 70 mph windstorm come through and knocked down my trellis. I haven’t been able to get out there to erect the trellis yet. I hope the trellis is still salvageable. The only thing holding it up are my jasmine vines.

Below is the pink and white jasmine holding it up. I am so upset as this is my only trellis left. I had another one on the other side of my garden that got knocked down by Santa Ana winds a few years ago. I never replaced it. I do love a trellis to frame my garden so I may replace this one eventually.

That’s all for the week. I hope you have a nice weekend.