I have a bad case of ceanothus envy. For those of you who don’t know this (mostly) western groundcover or shrub, it goes by the common name “California wild lilac.” Its flower panicles, especially when seen from a distance, look similar to those of common lilac (Syringa), though the leaves differ. Every spring it flowers all over the hills and in gardens in various parts of the West. I saw lots of it on my last visit to San Francisco and California’s gold rush country. The shrubs I saw were mostly bright sky blue and were an incredible sight, growing in great profusion.
In my part of the world, USDA Zone 6b (or 7a on the latest hardiness chart), we can only grow one ceanothus, Ceanothus americanus or New Jersey tea. It is not unattractive, with white flowers, and it was used by both Native Americans and early settlers as a substitute for black tea. Presentable and useful though it may be, as far as looks go, it can’t hold a candle to its western cousins.
Part of every gardener’s life falls under the heading “accepting the things we cannot change.” The zone hardiness of ceanothus is one of those things. However, it does provide yet another reason to save pennies for springtime trips to California.