Ceanothus gloriosus - Anchor Bay

We’re awfully fond of this ground-hugging California native, and with good reason. Ceanothus gloriosus ‘Anchor Bay’ makes a dense evergreen mound of dark, lustrous foliage that stays handsome all year, then absolutely lets loose in spring with a lavish display of bright blue flowers. It’s a pollinator magnet, drawing in bees, butterflies, and other welcome garden visitors, and it’s especially fine spilling over slopes, softening borders, or rambling through naturalistic plantings. Tough, tidy, and very good-looking, it thrives in well-drained soil with little water once established, though inland gardens appreciate a bit of shade and occasional summer water. Deer resistant, drought tolerant, and wonderfully useful in dry California gardens. About 1–2' tall and 6–8' wide.

Looking for plants for hot, dry, and hard-to-water areas? Our blog shares tips for choosing eye-catching tough plants.

This is a California lilac for spreading sideways rather than reaching for the sky. ‘Anchor Bay’ forms a broad, ground-hugging evergreen shrub with glossy, dark leaves and a handsome, muscular texture that looks good even when the flowers are finished. In spring, the foliage nearly disappears beneath clusters of intense cobalt-blue bloom.

Use it on banks, over retaining walls, along a dry border, or wherever a low woody groundcover can help cover soil without looking flat. It is particularly well suited to coastal gardens and other mild, summer-dry settings. Once established, unnecessary summer irrigation is more likely to annoy it than impress it.

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