South African plants at the Seaside Gardens nursery in Carpinteria

This striking honeybush (Melianthus major) with its play of surfaces -- blue-green on one side of its pleated leaves and gray-green on the other -- resides in a demonstration garden of South African plants. Designed by Laurence Nicklin for the Seaside Gardens nursery in Carpinteria, the South African garden has four large beds of plants from the tip of South Africa. The garden is one of several at Seaside Gardens (www.seaside-gardens.com) featuring plants -- including many that are drought resistant -- from the Mediterranean climate zones.