Low Effort, High Impact Plants

Just a few of the many plants that have died in my garden.

Orange symphony Osteospermum

Oenothera Speciosa - Pink Evening Primrose (blooms are open all day)

Mesem-Bryanthemum - purple ice plant

I have been gardening since I was 7 when I talked my dad into letting me plant one of his flower beds with one row of corn, one row of green beans and one row of zinnias. The bed was about 2 1/2 feet by 3 feet so you can imagine how well the corn did but from that garden on I was hooked for life on gardening. At the moment I am in love with my garden but over the years there have been many heartbreaks and failures. I kept a (poor) record of what I planted by saving the little plastic tags that come in the pot. I was appalled recently when I looked through the collection of tags and realized just how many plants have died in my care (see the tiny "plant tag graveyard" pictured). Fortunately for me, most of the garden centers in San Jose have a very generous return policy. Here is how it works: you take the remains of the plant (along with your receipt) into the garden center and they let you take home a new victim - for free. There were certain plants I was so determined to have in my garden (hibiscus for instance) that I repeated this process at least three times before I gave up. On my many walks around downtown San Jose I have identified some very spectacular, low effort, high impact plants that seem to thrive here with very little work. The pictures here are of 3 plants that just keep coming back year after year with an abundance of blooms. Any nominees of your own?