Re: Dry garden question
Xeriscape is tm now owned by some ogther group, i think. term is more of
a process and methodology than descritpion of a dry garden. a dry garden
could involve, and most likely would involve, xeriscaping, but so could
a rose garden and a lawn.
Nan Sterman wrote:
>
> Duncan, Xeriscape is a trademarked name owned by the Denver Water Authority
> (I think), and refers to a garden taht takes little water. I wouldn't
> necessarily call that a dry garden. There is a site for Xeriscape, I don't
> recall it off hand, but you can find it with any search engine.
>
> Nan
>
> >What is the word for a Dry Garden? Xeriscape....is this the correct
> >spelling?
> >
> >Duncan
> >
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> Nan Sterman, Master Composter in residency
> San Diego County, California
> Sunset zone 24, USDA zone 10b or 11
>
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Garden pathways for Aug. 9
Rare is the summer without watering restrictions.
Wells are shut down because of pollution, usage spikes with population increases, droughts happen with some regularity - the causes don't matter, because these are the hands we are dealt.
For gardeners, solutions are simple: Find more water, either through a well, which is expensive and perhaps a drain on the aquifer, or a gray-water system, which is environmentally friendly, using household, non-sewage wastewater, but still expensive. Or live with it.
And that means Xeriscaping to some degree or another. I Xeriscape (zer-i-scape), though I didn't start out to do it. I was pursuing low-maintenance gardening and found they are closely related.
Xeriscape landscaping is a 1981 invention of the Denver Water Board, which borrowed from the Greek word xeros, meaning dry. I find this ironic, because when I lived in Colorado in the '60s and '70s, the water board seemed bent on acquiring and pumping to Denver every drop in the West. Apparently they saw the light, and they went so far as to trademark the word Xeriscape in an effort to maintain the purity of their approach. (The trademark went to the National Xeriscape Council in 1986.)
Xeriscaping is not what a lot of people think it is: rock-strewn landscapes studded with cacti and succulents (though it can be).
Instead, it's a seven-step program for the landscape that can apply to sparse plantings or lush installations. These steps are more than water-saving tips, too. They save work and money and incorporate good gardening principles.
1. Planning and design. This is fundamental to all gardening. In this case, it also means grouping plants with similar watering needs. Put those that like wet feet in low spots and near the house (where the water is). Put those that want to bake on that sandy hillock on the side. This makes for efficient watering. Also, use drought-tolerant plants to shelter the others.
2. Soil analysis and improvement. Clay soil holds water well, but it is difficult to wet it in the first place. Barren, sandy soils (and I am an expert on this) are easy to water, but it runs right through, taking nutrients with it. Improve either with organic amendments. Raised beds, by the way, though great in many respects, dry out quicker. Perhaps they should be saved for vegetables, not perennials.
3. Appropriate plant selection. Natives are a good choice. If it grows wild in New England, it is used to wet springs, dry summers, and cold winters. Natives are not necessarily drab, either, with great cultivars of almost everything available. For a carefree stand of shrubs in shade, try Clethra alnifolia `rosea,' a pink-flowered form of the shrub that fills our summer woodland air with lovely scent. The English are enamored of solidago, which many of us think of as scrimy old goldenrod (but check out the varieties, in yellows, oranges, and reds). There are many drought-tolerant non-natives, as well, especially Mediterranean plants and herbs (often the same).
4. Practical turf areas. Lawns guzzle water (not to mention sweat and gasoline involved in mowing them). Limit them to traffic areas. Keep them off slopes, which are hard to mow and shed water, and away from shrubs and trees, which don't need the competition anyway. Use varieties that use little water: fescues for a normal lawn, things like buffalograss for the back 40 where it is OK to brown up in summer, the natural response of grasses to drought.
5. Efficient irrigation. Irrigation systems are great if you don't put them on automatic. Water, however you do it, only when plants need it. I shake my head when I see inground sprinkler systems watering during summer rainstorms, especially now that devices exist to turn them off when it has rained. I find that a little wilting is OK, a simple way to tell when to water. Using a hose is fine on a small property. Soaker hoses work great, especially since many plants, including tomatoes, suffer from diseases if their foliage is wet a lot. I don't have any soaker hoses yet, but my plan is to bury some in the rose garden and hook up the front hose to them as needed.
6. Use of mulches. Mulches hold down weeds, can provide a unifying textural and color element, and reduce watering needs. They lower the soil temperature and, in the case of organic mulches, such as bark and compost, build the soil. There are drawbacks. Anything hotly rotting can tie up nitrogen (just add some fertilizer), and dried-out wood chips could be a fire hazard. Too much mulch is bad (a haven for rodents, an invitation for shallow roots), too little is ineffective (weeds).
7. Proper maintenance. Weeding, pruning, fertilizing, all will result in healthier plants, which will withstand dry periods better. Gardening is work; there is no way around that.
There is a lot of good information on Xeriscaping. It's worth a look. Good gardeners will find they're already doing a lot of it.
UFDOTS
Speaking of drought and summer, hot would describe the music of a Long Island band that recently played our area: Peat Moss and the Fertilizers. You have to love that.
UFDOTS
Herbert Cohen of Peabody recently wrote asking for information on Chinese red grass, specifically how to grow it and keep its red color.
I'm guessing that the plant is Japanese blood grass, Imperata cylindrica `Red Baron,' which I grow. The leaf blades are red with some green toward the base and look great with the setting sun shining through them and next to a hydrangea, picking up some reddish tones from that. They don't want to bake, and they don't want to dry out (moist but well-drained soil). Partial shade can be good in hot summer areas. Variegated plants can lose color for a variety of reasons. I suspect that with blood grass too much shade would be the culprit in the foliage turning green. The red should intensify in fall. These plants grow 1-2 feet high and slowly spread into one-foot clumps.
