Good plants?

I think that most of us have swooned over the plants illustrated in many good books about the native plants of Mediterranean climates.
 
And many of us ask, “Why has that not been available at my garden center?”
 
Being in the hort industry for some years, I have seen some of these interesting plants come in to the trade.  And many o! f them go out almost as quickly.  The reasons, I know, are many; some good, some suspect.
 
Yet I still find interest in the many wild plants that SEEM to have potential as garden plants.  So I find myself stating “That should grow here” and then asking “So why isn’t it?”  And I figure somebody knows -- who better than the exceptionally intelligent and worldly members of the Med Garden Society.
 
I have a LONGGGGG list of plants that ! I’ve wondered about.  Beginning with this baker’s dozen (all Med Basin natives):
 
 
Quercus rotundifolia
Celtis tournefortii
Helleborus multifidus bocconei
Clematis flammula
Clematis campaniflora
Paeonia cambessedesii
Crataegus laciniata
Genista cinerea
Acer monspessulanum
Acer sempervirens
Daphne oleoides
Daphne sericea
Cistus clusii
 
What do you all know about the availability in the trade of any of these, somewhere?  What do you know about the garden performance:  Does it grow easily without much special care; does it grow too easily, possibly becoming a weed; and, most importantly, does it actually look good enough for most landscapes (not just in a “collection”)?
 
Maybe you happen to know why they have NOT been in the larger-scale commercial trade.
 
I have a feeling that many of these plants already have been discussed in this forum; I just may be re-inventing the wheel on this concept.
 
Thanks,
Joe


Joe Seals
Santa Maria, California --
where the weather is always perfect
and my NEW garden will soon be blooming and full of birds and butterflies
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