Combsville Guest Cottage

Objective: Provide year round visual, olfactory, and pollinator interest while conserving site’s scarce water resources and providing cut flowers.

Aesthetic: Classic Northern California Mediterranean cottage garden meets native plant preserve.

Soil assessment: Slightly acidic soil PH, high organic matter and good tilth, low salinity and boron, and average macro and micro nutrients make this a versatile site.

Exposure: South eastern exposure with dappled afternoon shade from shrubs on the western edge make this a sunny to partly sunny but not overly hot site.

Special challenges: Existing oak trees at edge of site will limit some planting options to species that thrive under oaks.

Foundation perennials:

'Austin Griffiths' manzanita*

A California native, this woody evergreen shrub provides year-round structure and beauty via its sculptural, red barked branches and gray-green leaves. Abundant clusters of pale pink, drooping, urn-shaped flowers are beneficial to many bird species and a welcome point of the interest in January. Low water.

'Black Jack' Fig

'Black Jack' fig

A deciduous tree with a semi-dwarf growth habit adaptable to pruning and training. Leaves are large, deeply lobed, and bright green. Trunk is smooth and gray. Provides large, deep purple fruit mainly from late summer to mid-fall. Moderate to regular water.

'Iceberg' rose

Easily one of the most recognized of roses, revered by gardeners for its profusion of bright white summer-long, free-flowering blooms and vigorous growth. A very easy care variety that is nearly thornless and extremely disease resistant. Moderate water.

'Tiny Tower' Italian cypress

A unique, compact form with exceptionally dense blue-green foliage. Maintains its narrow, columnar form and tidy, well-groomed appearance without pruning. Excellent for formal plantings or to provide structure at the back of the border. Makes a wonderful topiary or container specimen. Evergreen. Low water.

Accent perennials: