Life After Lawn: Get ready for a purple wave

This is one part in a weekly series featuring the UC Davis Arboretum’s “Life After Lawn” series – 45 can’t-fail, easy-care, low-water plants well adapted to our region and ideal for drought-tolerant landscapes.

Purple scabiosa

Scabiosa caucasica “Vivid Violet”

Size: Up to 7 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Bloom season: Spring, summer, early fall

Exposure: Full sun

Pruning needs: Little or none; remove spent flowers.

Water needs: Low; once-established, water once or twice a month.

Snapshot: Love purple? You’ll love this water-wise flower. This new, low-growing cultivar produces attractive purple button-like flowers over a long bloom season from spring to fall. A favorite of beneficial insects, the pretty blooms sprout above lacy, green leaves. Use scabiosa along a path or mixed with other lower growing perennials and stand back to watch the native bee and butterflies arrive!

For more on “Life After Lawn,” click on arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Life After Lawn: Get ready for a purple wave."