Bee plant, hummingbird sage, and more...

It's such a rewarding feeling when what you plant actually survives and thrives.

For example, in the photo above you see a Bee Plant Scrophularia californica to the left foreground. It has a branch of leaves crowned with four tiny flowers. This is a great California native shade plant. It attracts native California bees and hummingbirds. The Anna's hummingbirds make it part of their routine to feed on the nectar of the tiny flowers.

The leaves host buckeye and checkerspot butterflies.

When we lived elsewhere in the East Bay I never had luck growing this plant.

And now this plant is thriving, getting lusher every week.

To the right of the Bee Plant is a Hummingbird Sage Salvia spathacea“Crimson Sage” calyx sprouting blossoms. We brought this plant in its large container when we moved from our previous home last November. The plant was dormant for quite a while, and then started to get mildew on its leaves until I moved it to this current spot a few months ago.

Now it looks very healthy and is producing more shoots.

It definitely is a favorite of the local Anna's hummingbirds.

In the background is a Sprenger's Asparagus fern Protasparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri' , that I've had for many years. First it was indoors, hanging in a planter in the kitchen for several years, but it seemed to just languish there.

Once it was transferred outdoors into a large container, it has been thriving.

It is very easy to care for. I never fertilize it, just water it several times a week during the dry season.It produces tiny white flowers that bees seem to love.

Then the flowers turn to green berries that turn red later in the year.