Of course, everyone is racing out to the edge of the bluff to view the elephant seals, while I'm strolling along looking at the plants. And it was worth the stroll. One of the best lessons I've learned in garden design is to look at natural plant associations. You'll always find harmonies in color and size and most certainly in culture. If these plants are growing together in the wild, you know they'll have a better chance of succeeding together in your garden.
So they main combo that caught my eye was the grey-leaved Eriophyllum lanatum, and Hazardia squarrosa. Since they are growing on a coastal bluff, the wind keeps them sheared. In the photos, you can see that they appear almost to be clipped into nice rounded, mounded balls...so tidy. If you're not in a coastal zone with that kind of steady air flow, you'd have to take the shears to them.But that grey and green combo is really nice. They are both Asteraceae with yellow flowers, but the foliage makes up for the consistency on that score. The flowers are still different, though, with the Eriophyllum providing daisy-like landing pads for butterflies and the Hazardia doesn't have any rays.
Here's a great opportunity to keep it simple. Two plants that grow well together and are also pleasing together. If you really need to complicate things, another Asteraceae wouldn't harm the composition. Erigeron glauca is also found in this habitat, its leaves are very different, and its flowers come in an array of colors....lavender, pink, white are commonly around, while the very desirable 'Wayne Roderick' with dark purple flowers can be occasionally located. Be careful, though, as some growers have mixed up 'Wayne Roderick' with a lavender form.A more sturdy companion to this mix would be a Ceanothus. There are several low growing coastal forms and something with really dark leaves would look sharp here. Ceanothus bloom in Spring, so there probably wouldn't be any cross-over with flowers. But that wouldn't be bad. Ceanothus blue would work with the yellows here.
Finally, it might be possible to fit some Iris douglasiana or one of the many Pacific Coast Hybrids (PCH) into this picture. Dark green strappy leaves are definitely a contrast. Iris bloom in early and mid Spring while these two bloom more toward Summer. Keep an eye on colors, though, just to make sure. And you can find out if the Iris is more of an early, mid, or late blooming variety.
