It flowers in the autumn, it's bright and cheerful and hardy here.

There are two main types: one with narrow, silvery leaves, and one with broader, green leaves.

The silvery forms are native to hillsides in areas west of the Coast Ranges, and do best where the summers are relatively mild and very dry. They are considered very drought tolerant, and can take a fair amount of frost. Their flowers are small, and tend toward pinks and rose red. They suffer from root rot in hot, humid summers.

The ones with broad green leaves are native to intermittent streams and dry washes east of the Coast Ranges, through Arizona to west Texas. They grow cheerfully through the worst heat, as long as they have some water, and can bloom fall through spring, as long as they don't get frozen back. Frost doesn't stop them permanently either, but they rarely develop any woody structure, like the silvery ones do. Their blooms are somewhat larger, and come in the cream-orange-scarlet range.

Which one is best for you will depend on where you garden. If the summers exceed 105 deg. regularly, you will probably be better off with the green-leaf types and occasional irrigation. If the summers are cooler, use the silver-leaf forms, and keep them in fast-draining, sandy soil, and not much more than natural rainfall.