As the rest of the country begins to think of Autumn, and getting all those last summer longings accomplished, we here on the Central Coast bathe in our warmest temperatures of the season and know that winter is a long way off. Why not take this opportunity to enjoy the garden in its full glory before those cold winds begin to braze our California bones? Crescent Hill seeks to provide ideas for fall and winter color, as always with a nod to the unusual, at a few special events this September. Please join us this Saturday, September 6 at our monthly plant carnival in Cupertino, Ca at the De Anza College Flea Market. This month the newsletter is a bit abbreviated because we have been busy preparing for this keynote market on our summer schedule. It hits us at the apex of of summer color season and we will literally attempt to bring the botanical garden to you!! Hope you can also join us next weekend (September 13-15) at the California, Home, Garden & Gourmet Show in the Santa Clara Convention Center, next to the 49ers new stadium in Santa Clara, Ca. This very diverse and well organized event features professionals in every field from roofing to gardening, and offers a wide array of speakers and demonstrations on home improvement. It is a great event to beat the heat and see our plants in an indoor venue, and provides you with free parking and admission! Maps and directions to all events are available on the CALENDAR page of the website linked below. www.crescenthillnursery.com

New for 2013
Crescent Hill is pleased to announce that we will be accepting credit/debit cards at all of our local garden markets. Thanks in advance for your patience as we navigate the waters of the new process.

Please don't forget to check out our constantly changing color collage on Facebook. The frequent updates feature a who's who of the present bloomers at the nursery, plus special updates and promotions. Find us at www.facebook.com/pages/Crescent-Hill-Nursery/207330655953337)
or click on the link below on this page.

In response to the numerous requests by our gardening family and partners, we are pleased to announce that an E-NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE link is now available on our website www.crescenthillnursery.com. Please take a moment to check it out, and also tour the newly updated PLANTS section and increasing content of color photos for all our selections!!

Nursery tours are encouraged. Please come out and see our 2 acre facility in Watsonville. With over 250 varieties grown, the growing grounds are turning into a little botanical park. Please call for an appointment. Groups are welcome.

Please remember Crescent Hill recycles all 1,2, and 5 gallon plastic containers. Drop off available at all markets, or here at the nursery. Thanks again!!

"Bloom where you are planted"

LION'S TAIL
Leonotis leonurus

As we approach our hottest months of the year along the Central Coast, the blistering heat must find a partner with whom to tango. If you need a flat-out excellent garden specimen for the warm color palette, then the Crescent Hill Nursery September Plant of the Month may be just what the doctor ordered. The Lion's Tail is an evergreen shrub in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family native to South Africa. Reaching 4-6 feet in height and 3-4 feet across, this easy-to-grow perennial is heralded in ornamental gardens all over the world for its exotic whorls of orange tubular flowers, which provide the plant its namesake. Where one whorl would be enough to attract attention, the combined effect of hundreds of whorls on a mature plant are what make Leonotis leonurus a bona fide garden legend. Lion's tail can be grown in either full sun or part shade, but shows best in all day sun where the bloom cycle is both extended and exaggerated. This copious bloomer generally starts to provide color in late spring and pushes all the way through early winter in California gardens, delivering a perfect addition to the late season color program. Its peak expression occurs now in late summer/early fall, and is certainly a worthy pairing for the harvest moon and Halloween season. On top of attracting the eye of humans, the blooms are also a major nectar source for hummingbirds who feast on its gently recurved blooms. This is one that will quickly render the hummingbird feeder obsolete!! Butterflies and bees also appreciate this erect subshrub, making it a virtual cornucopian buffet for our native pollinators. In the ground, Lion's Tail is not picky about soil type and can thrive in a variety of different soil conditions. Its mint family origins make it a very generalist grower who has proven successful in both sand and clay. Although appreciating regular water through establishment, Leonotis shows a good deal of drought resistance once entrenched, and especially after it goes through a winter. It is leaf hardy to 25 degrees F, but will stump sprout all the way to the low 20's if mulched properly. In the landscape, Lion's Tail is as flexible as can be, and can be paired with a multitude of colors to make an immediate impact. Just place this one in the mid to back border and let the imagination roam free. We have had success blending Leonotis in with everything from grasses to Salvias to Leucadendrons, especially complimenting the deep red or purple color tones. A nice hard cutback after bloom will encourage the plant to become more bushy subsequent years, creating a scaffold that will produce more and more flowers. In its native South Africa, Lion's Tail (or Wild Dagga) is prized for its medicinal uses, where it is used from everything from headaches/fever to scorpion and snake bites. It is also said to create a mildly euphoric effect when smoked, and is used traditionally as a Cannabis substitute. This utilitarian plant is also a great cut flower (burn stem bottoms first), and has been increasingly spotted in local farmers markets as a dried flower, where the desiccated bunches make quite a lovely impact. And by the way, it is now also available in white!! The Leonotis leonurus 'Alba' is a late fall-winter bloomer in California, and an excellent companion plant for its orange brother. Whether white or orange, Leontotis leonurus has always been one of our favorites, and Crescent Hill has grown this true garden winner since our inception 12 years ago. It is truly worthy of inclusion in any California garden and we are proud to make it our Crescent Hill September Plant of The Month.

Special E-Newsletter Price: $7 per 1-gallon container or $20 per 5 -gallon!! Mention this review to receive discount.

phone: 831-246-1128
website: www.crescenthillnursery.com
email: nathan@crescenthillnursery.com