Foolproof Way to Choose Xeriscape Plants

If you're tired of paying higher water bills every summer, you're probably thinking about switching your ornamental garden to a xeriscape - or "dry landscape." The first area that most people switch over to drought-resistant plants is the parking strip, an area that is difficult to water and often more exposed to drying wind. However, it makes sense to use these drought-hardy plants in all areas of your yard, especially with the rising cost of water and the growing concern about water shortages.

I live on the dry, hot eastern side of the Cascade mountains, where most plants begin to wilt when the temperatures hit the high nineties, as often happens from late June on. I'm now in the process of changing the water-hungry perennial beds that were established by the home's previous owner into a water-saving, drought tolerant garden.

To get started, you could buy one of the many good books on the subject, or you could do a search on line for a list of xeriscape plants. However, unless the book or website has been written by someone who lives in your neighborhood, there's no guarantee that their list of drought-hardy plants will survive in your specific climate. There is, however, an almost foolproof way to choose plants that will hold up in your landscape, with little or no supplemental water after they're established. This method won't help you find new and unusual plants, but it will give you many ideas for a beautiful, carefree garden.

To see exactly which plants do well without anyone caring for them, just take a walk through a neighborhood in town where many of the inhabitants are renters or elderly, or take a drive to an abandoned farm. It helps to make several visits, at different times of the year, so you can see what's blooming and thriving in spite of obvious neglect.

During my morning and evening walks with my dog I've come up with a short list of guaranteed survivors for my parking strip. My list, of course, may not work for you in your area, because of differences in annual rainfall, the length of the growing season, and the average temperature in both summer and winter. You'll have the best luck with your new xeriscape garden if you do your own research.

Here in Eastern Oregon, with an annual rainfall of approximately 17 inches, where summer temperatures can soar above 100^o, and winter often sees temperatures well below 0^o, there are still some beautiful garden plants that continue to thrive with no care at all. In the springtime you see established clumps of peonies and colorful irises blooming profusely in completely neglected yards. Lilac bushes continue to grow and bloom each year around houses that have been abandoned for years. Now, in July, feverfew and bachelor's buttons are growing wild on vacant lots that have never received a drop of supplemental water.

This fall I'll be replacing the grass on my parking strip with these beautiful flowering plants. They'll need some care for a year or two, until their roots have developed enough for them to make it on their own. To keep my parking strip from being too ordinary, I'll purchase hardy varieties of iris and peonies in different colors than the ones that appear in all my neighbor's yards. Once the spring blooms are gone, the feverfew and bachelor's buttons will take over and give several months of color, and I won't have to water them often, if at all.

Another thing to look for on your walks around town are weeds growing in dry, neglected ground. There may be ornamental relatives of hardy weeds that would make a nice addition to your garden. We have lots of bindweed, an invasive cousin to the garden morning glory, a beautiful vine that can cover a fence in just a few months, but which will not take over the yard the way bindweed does.

A wild form of amaranth can be found growing in many pieces of vacant land in this city, although they do seem to favor spots that get a touch of irrigation from sprinklers. The edible and ornamental varieties of this hardy weed make a beautiful addition to flower borders a vegetable gardens.

One weed that can be found almost everywhere you look is the common mallow, which most people here call buttonweed. This plant is a close relative of the hollyhock, which also grows well in our area, although it can be subject to diseases like rust and powdery mildew. Perhaps the trick with these pretty old-fashioned flowers is to neglect them a little.

So, if you're wondering what drought-resistant ornamental plants you can grow in your yard, do some local research while you walk your dog. You'll be rewarded with blooms year after year, without increasing your water bill.