Evergreen Nursery has developed an amazing array of cacti and succulents mostly in an effort to respond to the ever present need to conserve water. That need is never going to change.  Southern California gardens are always going to be on a low water budget and cacti and succulents accomplish just that.

KUSI invited Mark and Steven Collins to show off some of Evergreen Nursery's modern succulents and how to incorporate them into your landscape with other drought-tolerant plants. They showcased some beautiful specimens such as Kangaroo Paw, Senecio, and Kalancho thrysiflora or Paddle Plant and Bougainvillea.

Bottlebrush / Callistemon citrinus - The bottlebrush is not just your grandma’s plant.  It is coming back into popularity as one of the more versatile plants you will find.  It can be grown as a hedge, tree, or even on a trellis. The overall height is about 8 ft to 12 ft with a spread of about 6 ft to 8ft.

Drought Tolerant Plants

A while back, a friend of a friend asked me to come out to Mt. Helix to take a look at a lot they were planning on building their house on. They wanted some ideas for what to do with some of the existing vegetation. When I got to the site, the first thing I noticed was a big field of Bird of Paradise. And really, in addition to being one of San Diego’s finer neighborhoods, Mt. Helix originally was used extensively for flower growing and one of the things they grew was Bird of Paradise for cut flowers.