I've only recently gotten interested in ornamental oregano, which can be quite lovely, if not entirely edible. 'Kent Beauty' is the leader of the pack, so when I saw one-gallon pots on sale at Thomsen's Garden Center, I immediately grabbed one.
I'm going to plant it in a container, though apparently it does well in the ground here, because I think it will look more dramatic that way.
AKA "Blue Pea Shrub" or "Grape Kool-Aid Tree"
Psoralea pinnata got its silly nickname from the scent of its pea-shaped blossoms (springtime).
This is a small tree or large shrub, and mostly that seems to depend on how it is pruned. Most of the year it is handsome but unremarkable, but in the spring it explodes with little blue flowers that have a sweet, fake grape flavour scent. You might think that could be really awful, but somehow it avoids the potential badness of an entire yard smelling like a kindergarten snack hour.
This specimen is growing at the Leaning Pine Arboretum at Cal Poly, photographed Spring 2006.
I collected seed to start this on my own, then I discovered seedlings at Annie's Annuals in June 2006. So I bought one, because it shaved a year off the planting schedule.
AKA "Sword Fern." This is an invasive fern, but as invasives go it is pretty mild-mannered in the garden. It does require regular hacking back and digging out as it surrounds and engulfs other plants, but it works remarkably well as a ground cover because of that tendency.
This photo is of a mature stand of Nephrolepis cordifolia on the Cal Poly campus.
And here are my two small cuttings, planted Spring 2006, in the Fern Walk:
Because of the size of the Fern Walk and the general expense of buying ferns, I am hoping these guys fill in and take over their little patch of land.