ghost garments asks: Advice needed on starting a drought resistant garden…?
I have this vast lawn 47ftX32ft that is in need of constant water from living in sunny southern california, due to water cost and guilt I’m ready to try my hand at a drought-resistant garden. I’m a newbie to any type of gardening, so any advice is good. I live in zone 9. The area gets full sun all day and the only shade is provided by a guava tree that grows in the left corner furthest from the street. I also have a 36ftX2.5ft raised flowering bed that runs along the front of the house.
Really I have so many questions. When should I start prepping the dirt? When do I plant? What plants should I plant? Also how much should I expect to spend?
I’m having fantasies about a field of wildflowers. Would that require re-seeding, or do the flowers just pop up again during spring and summer? What would that look like in the winter?
HELP! thanks!
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Answer by eskie lover
You and me both! I live in SoCal, zone 9, inland north county and the water bill has gotten outrageous. If you have DG soil like I do, you probably want to work in some compost. Right now before the heat sets in is a great time to start preparations on the soil and planting. That will give the plants some time to take root before the heat sets in. Sounds like you need plants that like full sun and I would start with native plants. Wildflowers require a lot of water. I planted them on my front hillside a few years ago and in the heat of the summer they require a morning and evening watering, so you may want to reconsider that idea. Only the daisies continue to come up all of the rest were annuals.
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/fire_resistant.html There is a list of fire resistant plants here
And easy to grow native plants here
http://cnpssd.org/horticulture/index.html
One suggestion is to be certain to mulch to at least 2-3 inches. It really helps in our zone to reduce water usage because the mulch keeps the water from evaporating so quickly in the sun. You can put a layer of newspaper down first which will act as a weed barrier and also helps retain the water.
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One plant to consider is Ajuga reptans as a groundcover. Won’t become ungainly like taller plants. Spreads quickly after a year or so. Will still need a lttle babying when first planted as do all plants, will still occasionally need to be watered but very tough. Maybe as you convert your lawn just do it a section at a time instead of tilling up whole thing at once to make it a more manageable project. You may find there is a nice proportion you like between keeping regular lawn and groundcovered area as you go.
Other very drought tolerant plant are coneflowers and they self-seed easily to spread also. Have a wildflower look to them. They are about 2 feet tall and easily trimmed down in late fall/winter. Finches love the seeds in early fall.
Penstemon digitalis or “beard tongue” is another tall plant that is tough, is perennial and also self-seeds like crazy. Flowers last a few weeks in early summer, nice foliage if get reddish bronze varieties.
Cosmos do fairly well with drought too once established and more loose looking like wildflowers. More of an annual but I guess that depends on your climate too.
This is my first year with a garden, I researched different gardens, I really didn’t want to spend my evening pulling weeds,etc. I chose a raised bed garden, made this myself. I decided how big I wanted it, use cemented 4 post into ground (not sure if I really need to cement), I then went and got landscaping mesh to cover the bottom, after that I put in my soil and compost. This has really been an easy garden requiring very little attention
You won’t be able to do it overnight – or even in one season.
See source for some tips that might be helpful.