summary FLOWERING PLANTS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, SANTA CLARITA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

note: This blog post is number 500 in my on-going series of blog posts that I started in 2014 (12 years ago). To date, I have a total of 641,000 views of my blog. I whole-heartedly thank you for your continued interest. Stay tuned, as I have more blog posts coming your way!

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I live in a mild-warm climate in Southern California---in particular, within the United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] Zone 9. There are a total of 13 official USDA plant-hardiness zones in the USA. For a map that shows these zones, see the USDA website.

Zone 9 (=Santa Clarita weather) has mildly low temperatures that rarely falls bellows freezing. But, this zone has long hot summers with corresponding long growing seasons. Consequently, the flowers found in Zone 9 are diverse. Some of those in my neighborhood are listed here: most grow year around (perennials), whereas others grow only for a short time (annuals). Examples of both kinds of these flowers are listed below.

PERENNIALS:  Known for rapid growth and abundant blooms. These flowers will grow back, on their own, year after year, if the climate stays mild. 

An asterisk in the following list indicates that I have previously published a blog post (with photos) about that particular flower. 

Images included herein of some of the perennial flowers are denoted by the red font.

Azalea

Begonia

Bouganvillea

*Caesalpina = “Peacock Flower” 

Buddleja or Buddleia = Butterfly Bush

*Calla Lilly

Campis radicans = Pine Trumpet Vine

Chrysanthemum

Dietes iridoides = Fortnight Lily

Diplacus puniceus = Red Bush Monkey Flower

*Gladiolus

Eschcholzia = California Poppy

Fuchsia (hardy fuchsia variety)

*Gazania

*Helianthus = Sunflower

*Hemerocallis = day lily

*Hibicus

Impatiens

*Iris

*Lantana

*Lillium = true lily

*Magnolia (southern variety)

Mimulus

Narcissis papyraceus (paper-white variety)

Oenothera (evening primrose)

Ornithogalum dubium (sun star flower)

Polygala myrtifolia = Myrtle-leaf Milkwort

Rhododendron

Petuna

Pelargonium (related to the geraniums)

Poppy (short-lived in Santa Clarita)

Primula biennis (= primrose flower)

Rosa

*Salvia (French Lavender)

Ornithogalum dubium (Sun star flower)

Oxalis articulata (Shamrock flower)—requires being indoors

Tecomaria capensis = Cape Huneysuckle

Tibouchina

Tradescantia pallida (Purple-Heart Plant) 

*Zantedeschia = “Bird of Paradise”

ANNUALS: Complete their entire life cycle in a single growing season; usually they will not come back the next summer unless you reseed them or regrow them from cuttings. Images included herein of a few of the annual flowers are denoted by the red font.

Borago = an herb with miniflowers--see one of my earlier blog posts about plants.

Cosmos

Tagete = Marigold 

*Sunflowers [genus Helianthus], primarily an annual.

*Zinnia [primarily an annual but can be a perennial under the right conditions].

Note: The distinction between perennial and annual plants can be transitional/variable, depending on the species and the climate. Thus, some flowers that act as perennials in one climate, will act as an annual in a cooler/colder climate. For example, BOUGANVILLEA is a tropical woody vine classified as a perennial in warm climates. But this plant is grown as an annual or a container plant in cooler regions, where it dies back in freezing temperatures; although though it can regrow from the foots if protected or brought indoors. Somewhat confusing, eh? That’s nature!

BIENNIALS: Complete their life cycle in two years.

Evening Primose

*Alcea = Hockhock; they appear to be perennials that come back year after year, but they are actually biennials which self-seed prolifically. 

Some other biennials: carrots, Brussul spouts

Comments for representative images of some of Zone 9 flowers not previously illustrated in my blogs:

Figure 1. Bouganvillea is a tropical woody vine and is classified as a perennial in warm climates but is grown as an annual or a container plant in cooler regions where it dies back in freezing temperatures, though it can regrow from the foots if protected or brought indoors.

Figure 2. Pelargonium [= Ivy Geranium] is a “tender” perennial; it grows as an annual in colder climates. Based on molecular dating and dispersal-geologic history, the origin of branches of this family probably occurred during the Oligocene (about 30 mya) in southern Africa (Fiz et al. 2008).

Figure 3. Rosa (pink variety). One of the most recognizable flowers in the world is the rose, which is classified as the genus Rosa. There are about 180 species. Their flowers vary greatly in color, and there is also variation in their size and shape. Most species are native to Asia. Today, there are many varieties and colors of roses, and most specialists divide them into three categories: “Old Garden Roses”, “Wild Roses”, and “Modern Roses”. The earliest known fossil roses (imprints of leaves) are from the latest Eocene (about 35 million years old) from the Florissant Formation in Colorado (i.e., the Fossil Bed National Monument at Florissant, Colorado (Edwards and Weber, 1990).

Figure 4. Tibouchina. The geologic time range of this flower is not known. It is native to the southern part of the New World (e.g. Brazil, South America, etc.) (Wikipedia, 2026). 

Figure 5. Cosmos is an annual flower and requires replanting from seeds each year. The geologic time range of this flower is not known. It is native to the southern part of the New World (South America) (Wikipedia, 2026). 

Figure 6. Marigold is an annual flower and requires replanting from seeds each year. The geologic time range of this flower is not known except that it diversified during the Cenozoic (Wikipedia, 2026). It is native to the southern part of the New World (South America and Mexico). 

ZONE 9: Some fruit that grow [or have grown] in our garden in Santa Clarita, California are: blue berries, grapes, lemons, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, watermelons, zucchini. Anna apples grow across the street from our house.

ZONE 9: Vegetables that grow [or have grown] in our garden in Santa Clarita are: bell peppers, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, carrots, corn, cucumbers, green chiles, onions, potatos, pumpkins, radishes, red-leaf lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini. Some of these vegetables are shown here: from left to right---beets (four of them), carrots, cucumbers, and zucchini.

Most vegetables are annuals, but the two examples in bold font in the above paragraph = biennials. 

Not included in this blog post, are succulents (e.g., cacti), which are usually perennials. Two unusual succulents living in Santa Clarita, however, are the “Elephant Ear” and “False Christmas” flowers.”

REFERENCES

Edwards, M.E. and W.A. Weber. 1990. Plants of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Bulletin of Pikes Peak Research Station, Number 2. Colorado Outdoor Education Center, Florissant, Colorado. 

Fiz, O. and five others. 2008. Phylogeny and historical biogeography of Geraniaceae in relation to climate changes and pollination ecology. Systematic Botany 33(2), pp. 326-342. 

Wikipedia. 2026