I’m back in Maryland after a short trip to Los Angeles, where these plants and gardens got me gasping with envy, or dying to learn about, or both. All in the Encino area.

Lantana in a warm climate – a revelation!

I’m a recent fan of Lantana in pots, for their sheer beauty and how they attract all sorts of pollinators. But mine don’t get the chance to look like this because they’re killed by the first frost, usually around Thanksgiving. 

So THIS is how they look in the LA area, hardiness zones 10 to 11A. I wonder if they look this good in January. Damn I want that.

Eugenia hedges everywhere – because it’s such a performer!

With smallish lots and lots of pools, hedges are everywhere in this neighborhood and almost all of them are Eugenia. (And thanks to Santa Barbara landscape architect Billy Goodnick for identifying it for me, including its newest botanical name –  Syzigium paniculatum.)

I was floored by this plant’s performance as a privacy screen – with its full evergreen foliage down to the ground, and its fullness even when pruned to a narrow few inches, like the example on the left above.  Residents of townhouses like mine desperately need a plant like this (because we’re allowed only a tiny bit of privacy fencing). But new 1/4-acre developments are lacking privacy, too. On the many Reddit subs I follow, privacy is a huge topic.  

Anyway, I found out why people LOVE this plant for hedges, including that it grows up to 4 feet a year, for crissakes.

The Eugenia Shrub, Eugenia Uniflora, also known as Surinam Cherry, can serve as a quick and easy privacy hedge solution. can grow in excess of 25 feet (8 m.) tall. In U.S. hardiness zones 10 and 11 the shrub averages 8 to 20 feet After being established for a year or two, they will likely produce a crop of Surinam cherries. hardiness zone 10A through 11. It’s native to South America. Source. 

They’re popular in Florida, too. “Eugenia is one of South Florida’s finest hedge or privacy plants – great-looking, fast-growing, dense, and hardy.”

Licorice Plant hedges are either very cool or kinda weird

I had another wtf moment when I walked by this yard with maybe the coolest short hedge I’ve ever seen. It’s Licorice Plant. 

Helichrysum petiolare, commonly known as Licorice Plant, is a versatile and distinctive, heat-tolerant evergreen perennial native to South Africa, This fast-growing, evergreen subshrub is widely cultivated for its fuzzy, silver-green foliage and trailing habit.

I would totally grow this plant if I lived there.

My favorite front-yard gardens

Landscape fabric – the most-regretted garden mistake ever.  

Hate for landscape fabric/weed cloth is another hugely popular topic on Reddit. Oh, the stories people tell!