Matilija poppy

A matilija poppy, presumably Romneya coulteri and not the very similar R. trichocalyx. This semi-evergreen flowering shrub is native to southern California and Baja California.  Apparently it can be a bit difficult to get started in the garden, but once it is established it is quite sturdy and tolerant of less-than-ideal conditions.

It can grow to 3-5 feet tall and spread to 8 feet, with beautiful bluish-greenish-grey foliage and bright-white parchment-like petaled flowers with a globe of yellow at their centers.

Laguna Lake Park, June 2012.

Rosemary

Rosemary is an evergreen aromatic shrub, valued for both its toughness in the garden and its usefulness as a cooking herb in the kitchen.  It tolerates harsh sun and poor soil conditions and needs little water, so is ideal for a water-wise Southern California garden.  Keep it to a desired size by pinching the young tips of each branch -- with your fingers, so that you smell like rosemary for hours! -- or prune older stems lightly to a side branch. It can be sheared, but I like its natural shape best.

There are a number of varieties which differ according to growth habit, leaf size, and flower color -- this one, which I think is simply plain old Rosmarinus officinalus, is about 3 to 4 feet high (1 to 1.2 m) and upright, with long, elegant needle-like leaves, pine-green on the top and silvery-white underneath, and light blue flowers.  It is in another of my garden's brutal spots, a narrow bed between the house and the driveway, with the afternoon sun beating down on it.

Rosemary grows very well with lavender.