RE: Need ideas for sun-blasted parking strip et al.

---

Julie,

I like robin's iris suggestion.  I have seen them used in a similar situation in my town of Davis (which has very similar climate to that of Redding).  I have a planting of abelia in a two foot border.  It's very carefree, evergreen and I don't see any bees hovering around it and it doesn't have thorns.  I have the one that isn't very dense, but rather, has very graceful arching branches.  The flowers aren't particularly exciting, but I like the form and foliage.  I had actually been thinking of mixing some iris in with them.

Melissa   

At 05:20 PM 04/11/2001 , robin corwin wrote:

>

>What about irises?

>

>R. Corwin

>Studio City, Ca (L.A. area)

>

>>From: Julie Nelson <jaknelson@shastalink.k12.ca.us>

>>Reply-To: jaknelson@shastalink.k12.ca.us

>>To: "'medit-plants@ucdavis.edu '" <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>

>>Subject: RE: Need ideas for sun-blasted parking strip et al.

>>Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 11:42:44 -0700

>>

>>  My son's school has moved to a new location, which needs some immediate

>>landscaping (shade trees and foot traffic barriers).  The school is in

>>Redding, Sunset zone 9; summers are long, very hot (90-110 degrees F)

>>affairs, winters are relatively wet (45 inches of rain) with regular but

>>rarely severe freezing.

>>I need something (or more than one thing) to populate a narrow (2 feet

>>wide,

>>80 feet long) parking strip between the paved parking area and a low,

>>south-facing concrete wall that forms the drop-off for the sidewalk in

>>front

>>of the school.  The idea is to keep the children from jumping directly off

>>the sidewalk into the parking lot, and also soften and improve the

>>appearance of the new blocky building. I'd prefer something evergreen.

>>There will also be several vertical trellises for vines to break up the

>>linear expanse along the front of the building.

>>So far I have thought of:

>>1) rosemary (but I'm reluctant to plant such a bee magnet where there will

>>be children in and out, no doubt some of whom will be allergic to bee

>>stings).

>>2) Raphiolepis (does it pull in bees too?)

>>3) Grevillea (are there any small enough to fit the space without

>>butchering

>>them at pruning time?)

>>4) Juniper (boring)

>>5) Xylosma (boring)

>>6) Cistus (this is my current front-runner, but it would have to be a

>>relatively small or non-spreading type)

>>7) Pyracantha (but draws bees, and has thorns that may actually injure

>>someone, including me while pruning)

>>8) Berberis

>>9) Ceanothus--my experience with these is not encouraging as far as using

>>them in this tough a planting situation

>>10) Arctostaphlos--ditto the ceanothus

>>

>>There must be something wonderful that I've missed.  If you think of what

>>it

>>is, please let me know!

>>

>>Julie Nelson

>>

>>

>

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