RE: Need ideas for sun-blasted parking strip et al.
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: RE: Need ideas for sun-blasted parking strip et al.
- From: s*
- Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 10:54:26 -0700
Hello Julie --
'Scuse me jumping in here, when I'm mostly just a lurker, but I love this
type of question! It's such a fun puzzle to try to figure out plants for a
tricky location like yours. Some suggestions:
Hedge-type plants (these seem to be what you are going for):
Artemesias (Powis Castle is readily available, although I prefer absinthe
for the showy flowers. I love the various sagebrushes, but their branches
are brittle, which wouldn't be appropriate for your location, I don't think.)
Kniphofias
Santolinas (I like S. rosmarinifolia -- it has a color in between the usual
green and gray forms, narrow leaves, and a beautiful growth habit when
untrimmed. The only place I've seen it is Richters' catalog, www.richters.com)
Buddlejas
Lavenders (not L. angustifolia, because it looks kind of ugly in winter,
grows too slowly, and is brittle, but just about any other kind --stoechas,
dentata, heterophylla, canariensis ...)
Yuccas
Figs (yum!)
Tall grasses, like zebra grass (sorry, I have no idea of the botanical name.)
***
But why not have a mixed border, with all sorts of stuff, rather than a
monocultural hedge? You could have ~all~ of the above, plus:
Perovskia (assuming its deciduous-ness wouldn't be a problem if it's in a
mixed border)
California poppies (I find the regular ones are much tougher than the
fancy-colored hybrids)
Rose Campion (botanical name?? -- If it's growing up through the
Perovskia, that will hide the brown sems it gets later in the
summer. Perovskia, Rose Campion, and California poppies make a knockout
color combination!)
Thymes of all sorts
Tall bearded irises (extremely tough plants, but I wouldn't grow them as a
monoculture because I think they're really only nice before and during
flowering. In a mixed bed they'd be great.)
Salvias -- probably someone more knowledgeable than I could recommend some
that are tough, and not brittle.
Other general thoughts on the subject:
-- The Sunset garden book has a section on pollution-resistant plants.
-- You might not want plants that are sticky, or too fine-textured if the
environment is dusty. This might rule out Santolinas, Powis
Castle (but not absinthe), and some lavenders.
-- You might also not want too much gray, particularly whitish-gray,
depending on the colors of the paved surroundings.
Well, I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too many suggestions. Good
luck, and have a great time designing!
-- Susannah
