|Calliandra tweedii flower head|

Step closer.  You may need to shield your eyes from the cherry bombin’ stardust of Calliandra tweedii also known as the Brazilian or Trinidad Flame Bush.  Can you feel its horticultural heat?

|Calliandra tweedii profile|

This shrub is native to Brazil and Uruguay.  I’ve seen it growing beautifully around parts of California.  It seems to do well in temperate to warmer climates.  Calliandra tweedii creates an elegant framework of branches with delicate looking fernlike, lacy leaves.  It can grow 6 to 8 feet wide and tall and if it’s really happy it can even become a small tree up to 15 feet tall.  It’s real presence is felt when, in spring and fall, it produces a blaze of fiery scarlet spherical flower clusters.  The hummingbirds will come runnin’.

The look of this shrub is both silky soft and electric!  Very tropical. It likes full sun and added bonus…it requires little to almost no water to thrive, once established, of course.  There’s something about this plant that says tropical rainforest to me.  It reminds me of distant places.  Places that are wild, perhaps untouched.  Places where nature does some of its most beautiful work. Why not, surround yourself with it?

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|Deppea splendens ‘Cristóbal’ in bud|

Imagine trekking up into the Chiapas mountains in southern Mexico. The forest is shrouded in clouds of fog. The call of the Quetzal, one of the most beautiful birds in the world, can be heard above in the forest canopy.  The forest floor is outfitted with lush, green leafy plants. You feel a bit like you’re in an episode of Lost, waiting for the black smoke to appear.

|Deppea splendens ‘Cristóbal’ detail|

Instead, you see a shrub flush with plush, pleat-like textured leaves.  On this shrub you witness a shower of excitingly ornate golden trumpets emerging from rouged clayces.  The look is extraordinary!  You are experiencing the allure of the rare Deppea splendens ‘Cristóbal’ otherwise known as Golden Fuchsia. This spellbinding shrub comes from the mountain Cloud Forests in the Chiapas state in southern Mexico.  This magical evergreen shrub grows about 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide with an open, multi-stemmed form.  It produces spilling clusters of strikingly beautiful flowers in spring and fall.  As it matures, the clusters increase with spectacular result.

It thrives in light shade, likes regular to occasional water, and is hardy to 32 degrees.  One thing to note is that it has some pretty delicate stems that break easily when lightly jostled.  But the good news is that it responds pretty well to a decent pruning.

So, if you want something to really bring some gorgeous glam and exotic bam to an otherwise boring shady garden get yourself some Deppea splendens ‘Critsóbal’ and watch it shower your scene with some golden forest fantasy!

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|Adenium obesum bloom detail|

Have you ever seen a cherry coloured superblast?  Well now you’re looking at it.  The petals of this Adenium obesum also known as Desert Rose are so vibrant and true with color.  Whenever I see it in bloom it sweeps me away to the mysterious and distant climes of eastern Africa.  Adenium obesum is a succulent tree-like shrub that can grow outdoors in warm temperate climates and indoors in all others.  Kept in a container it can take on a really cool bonsai-like effect.  It’s stems and roots are succulent.  The root specifically can form an intriguingly sculptural caudex or swollen root.  This caudex serves as a water storage tank for the plant.

|Adenium obesum flower + foliage|

The caudex may be interesting but the real show stopper are the flowers.  They’re beautiful bold trumpets that can be red, pink, white, or variations of the three.  This plant makes a really cool houseplant if you’ve got a bright, warm, sunny spot.  A big plus is that Adeniums are very drought and heat tolerant so maintenance is pretty low.  In the warmer months provide it with periodic water to encourage fresh leaves and prolonged flowering.  Give it what it needs and in return you’ll experience the beautifulness of the mysterious and beguiling Desert Rose.

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|Senecio fulgens bloom detail|

From the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, also known as the garden province and home of the Zulu nation, comes this extraordinary yet rare succulent called Senecio fulgens or Scarlet Klenia.  I came across this beauty at the Huntington Botanical Gardens plant sale earlier this year.

|Senecio fulgens profile|

I had never seen it before and knew I had to have it.  It grows as clumps of pearlescent silvery blue succulent foliage that sends up plump budded skyrockets tinged with tones of red-orange.  These buds explode with a composite of tiny five-petaled scarlet flowers glinting with golden anthers.  It is a delicate look that packs a surprising punch of vibrant color.  Absolutely cool!  If you’re a succulent stalker like the Plant Provocateur, who wants something both rare and exciting, check out Senecio fulgens.

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|Trichostema lanatum buds + blossom|

Do not adjust your view screen.  Set the controls to dreamy, hazy, ‘draizy’.  Let everything become warm and fuzzy.  Yes its true, the ever elusive Trichostema lanatum has been caught on camera.  Trichostema lanatum otherwise known as the California native shrub Woolly Blue Curls is a rare find.  It’s like the Sasquatch or Lochness monster of the plant world.  In other words you don’t see it too often which makes it kinda special.  It can be found growing on the dry, sunny slopes of California Coast Ranges.  If you’re into California natives and you’re lookin’ for something that is drought tolerant here is your winner.  It’s one of those few drought tolerant plants that wants NO irrigation.  I repeat NO irrigation.  Woolly here, can be a bit of a diva.  Everything needs to be just right.  Here’s what the rider states….1. Perfect drainage. 2. Full sun  3. Never allow it to sit in standing water  4. Keep out of heavy rain  5. Green M & M’s only (not really but you get the picture).

|Trichostema lanatum|

If you give it exactly what it wants this shrub will give you gorgeously dreamy stalks clustered with woolly blueish purple flowers on arching stems in spring through early fall.  The hummers and bees will thank you.  Added bonus…when its foliage is crushed it releases a woodsy essence of cedar.  A smell that is very California.  This shrub grows anywhere from 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide.  So how about it?  Up for a challenge?  If so, crank up the speakers, put on some Eagles “Hotel California”, and mellow to the vibe of Woolly Blue Curls in your garden.   Want to find it?  Check out places like Theodore Payne.

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