A riot of red and an outrage of orange.

That would be one way to describe two California natives with similar growth habits and flowering periods. Both of them tend to sprawl, growing in either bushy or ground-coverish forms, and both may flower at any given moment, although they bloom most prolifically, at least in this part of California, from late summer until early winter. And both are magnetically attractive to hummingbirds.

The riot of red is affectionately known as chuparosa (Justicia californica), which is a colloquial Spanish word for hummingbird. Chuparosa is one of the most northern representatives of the Justicia genus, a mainly tropical or even equatorial group whose most familiar member is shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeana) — so called on account of its layers of bracts that resemble the abdominal segments of the common, scavenging, saltwater shrimp. Chuparosa flowers, on the other hand, are nonsegmented, elongated, red and tubular, custom-made for attracting nectar-sipping and pollinating hummingbirds.

The outrage of orange refers to gray California fuchsia (Epilobium canum, or Zauschneria cana). This opportunistic species may be seen popping up on canyon hillsides — for example, along Coldwater Canyon and Laurel Canyon boulevards, running north and south between Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive.

Gray California fuchsia spreads by both seed and rhizomes and will naturalize over your hillside or throughout your drought-tolerant garden as long as soil drains well. Foliage is greenish gray to bluish gray and flowers are orange to red in color. In recent years, densely flowering, compact and vividly colored cultivars have been selected and may be found at nurseries that feature native or drought-tolerant species.

Tapestry hedges

One of the most fascinating horticultural marvels, at least for me, is the tapestry hedge. During a recent stay in Jerusalem, I encountered such a hedge. This one was composed of violet blue potato bush (Solanum rantonetti) and baby blue plumbago (Plumbago auriculata), living together in harmony.

There is a phenomenal aspect to tapestry hedges since they are typically created by accident. Two species are planted, often a considerable distance from each other, and then, in the course of time, they bridge the gap between them and become entwined in one another.

However, tapestry hedges also may be deliberate creations. In such cases, it is evergreen shrubs of similar stature and foliage type that are planted at intervals, except that their leaf color — or, in the case of conifers, scale color — varies from one to the next.

A classic tapestry hedge of the deliberate kind would include a combination of green, gold and blue juniper shrubs, each reaching a height of 6-8 feet. By hedging them at a given height once or twice a year, a colorful, drought-tolerant evergreen screen or barrier planting would result.

For more information about area plants and gardens, go to Joshua Siskin’s website at www.thesmartergardener.com. Send questions and photos to Joshua@perfectplants.com.