I have been asked to post some up-to-date pictures of my yard.  Perhaps I need to give some background first --

I moved here from Arkansas 20-some years ago and bought my house 17 years ago.  At the time it was surrounded by open desert, of which 1.25 ac. was mine.  Everything that grows in Arkansas grows here if you give it enough water.  But not vice-versa.  You can't take the rain away from Arkansas.  Water is expensive here, so I set about experimenting with plants to see what will grow in Barstow.

I walled the property, designed a layout for the backyard including 2 levels (the lot slopes), a small lawn, a swimming pool, a koi pond, flower and vegetable beds, and a wildflower bed.  I hired a landscaper to put in the irrigation and plant the major plants including an orchard to the east of the backyard.  Over the next 10 years, I had some outbuildings constructed including a passive greenhouse and a semi-tropical greenhouse.  I hired the same landscaper again to put in irrigation and plant a "desert woodland" in the remaining quarter of the property.

The main concern in planting was water conservation and the different microclimates.  For instance, most desert plants don't do well on the north side of walls where it is always shady, because they aren't used to shade.  And cutting flowers and vegetables don't do well in open areas as they need protection from our strong winds and afternoon summer sun.  Also plants that are cold sensitive need to be grown where there is some protection.

So 17 years later, I have lost a lot of plants for various reasons, bought a lot of new plants, and just generally experimented with growing things.  I have gotten a lot of starts from friends and given away a lot of starts to other friends.  I try to stay away from annuals unless they reseed freely.  And anything that reseeds, I pretty much let grow wherever it wants as this is how I find out what each plant needs.  So I have a messy garden.  And this year the weeds got away from me, but here are some pictures taken yesterday, in this very hot weather.

Backyard

Artichoke bed between orchard on the right and desert woodland on the left

Desert woodland

Desert Marigolds grow almost anywhere.

Winter Losses

This past winter has not been colder than others, but it has been cold longer.  A few of my plants, which were marginal for this area, have died.  Here is what I have lost --

Mexican Velvet Sage (which is supposed to survive here)
Jerusalem Sage (which is supposed to survive here)
Coral Agaves which were not in sheltered areas, damage to those which were
newly planted yuccas
yuccas in pots
Iceplant not in sheltered areas
Red Aloe
California Pepper Tree (weakened by borers)
Crested Eve's Needle Opuntia

I will replace the Mexican Velvet Sage and Jerusalem Sage and treat them as annuals.  I am also planting Kangaroo Paws which is an annual.  I was trying to avoid annuals in my xeric gardens, but if I want nice flowers, it looks like I need them.

Now Blooming
Flower Garden                                       Xeric Garden
     Daffodils                                                 Bladder Pod
     Wild Tulips (Cyrysantha)                               Desert Marigold
     Lady Banks Rose                                   Desert Verbena
     Cyclamen                                               Desert Dandelion
     fruit trees                                                misc. Ice Plants
     Gopher Plant                                          Texas Mountain Laurel
     California Poppies
     Shamrocks
     Baby Blue Eyes

Now Harvesting
hothouse Bananas
hothouse Tomatoes
Lettuce
Leeks
Asparagus

Now Planting (in hothouse because of rabbits)
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Eggplants

Rabbit-proof Winter Garden

Just the day before leaving on a Thanksgiving trip, I finished assembling a tiered winter garden in my hothouse, and planted some seeds: greens, radishes, peas, anything I thought might work in only 5" of soil.  The hanging troughs are 5' lengths of vinyl guttering.  Taller plants like broccoli are in the ground under the hanging troughs.  Also plants like beets that have large bulbs.

I had no idea if this would work, if the watering was right, enough drainage holes had been drilled, etc.  The watering system is 1/4" spaghetti tubing with an emitter every 12".  It was set to water once a day for 15 min.

So you can imagine how pleased I was to return two weeks later and find the garden looking great!

Irrigation 101 - Revisited

This is a correction to some mathematical errors in the Irrigation post of a year ago.  In some of the calculations I used gallons rather than inches.  And I did not adjust the figures for sandy soil.  So here are the corrected tables:


Duration of irrigation (in minutes) for plants in sandy soil

                       grass          perennial           shrub          tree    
sprinkler             18                 37                   73             116
rotor                   36                 72                 144            228
bubbler               0.3                0.6                  1.2            1.9
soaker hose         18                 36                   72            114
1/2" dripline       30                 60                  120           190
1/4" dripline       36                 72                  144           228

This table assumes there are enough sprinklers, bubblers, emitters, etc. to cover the area that needs to be watered.  If not, multiply the figure by the number of square feet each bubbler, emitter, etc. needs to cover.
For soil that is loam, multiple each figure by 1.5.
For soil that is clay, multiply each figure by 3.


Frequency of irrigation (times per month) for plants in sandy soil.

                        grass         perennial        shrub         tree

cold                  10.5               5.3                 3              1.5        
mild                  26.4             13.5                6.6           4.2
hot                    36                 18                  9              5.7

For soil that is loam, divide each figure by 1.5.
For soil that is clay, divide each figure by 3.

Note -- These tables are for plants that need normal amounts amounts of water (called "regular" in the Sunset Western Garden Book).  The frequency of watering will need to be adjusted for plants needing "little", "moderate", or "abundant" amounts of water.

Whatz that? - Barstow vines

This list of vines is taken from the Sunset Western Garden Book.  Included are the vines recommended for Sunset zone 11.  Not included are vegetables such as squash, cucumber and peas or annuals such as sweet peas.  The plants are listed in order by their scientific names as they are in the book.  The first list is those vines I have located in Barstow.  The second list is vines that should grow here but I have not seen.

Asparagus Fern/Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri', regular water, shade
Often used as a house plant in hanging baskets.  Has small red berries.

Asparagus Fern/Asparagus setaceus, evergreen, regular water, spines at base of leaves
This plant is often used in florist's bouquets for its airy leaves.

Trumpet Vine/Campsis radicans, deciduous, moderate water
This vine has been disappointing in that it does not bloom reliably and does not cover a chainlink fence well.  The long flexible branches root if left on the ground, so they have to be woven through the fence.

Coyote Gourd/Curcubita palmata, xeric, native to Mojave Desert, dies back in winter, thin-shelled for a gourd, not edible
It has the large yellow flowers and sprawling habit of squash and melons.

Winter Creeper/Euonymous fortunei, regular water, partial to full shade evergreen in Barstow, leaves turn red in Fall in colder climates
This plant can be used to cover a wall or as a ground cover.  It roots where the branches touch the ground.  Climbing, it does not attach itself to the wall, but has long stiff branches.

Algerian Ivy/Hedera algeriensis evergreen, moderate water
This ivy has larger and softer leaves than English Ivy.

English Ivy/Hedera helix evergeen, moderate water
This ivy has stiff leaves.  It adheres to rough surfaces with many small roots which are almost impossible to dislodge.

Morning Glory/Ipomea purpurea, moderate water
This plant came up a couple of months ago from seed that was given to me and I simply threw in various places.  It has not yet begun to climb, or had flowers.
It is said to be invasive once it is established.  I got it, looking for a fast climber for a trellis that will eventually have climbing roses.

Winter Jasmine/Jasminum nudiflorum, xeric, deciduous, yellow flowers in February
This plant could be considered a small shrub or a groundcover if it does not have any climbing support.




Trumpet Honeysuckle/Lonicera sempervirens, moderate water, evergreen, red flowers
I have had a few flowers, but at the moment it is not pretty enough to photograph.  It is one of the numerous vines I have tried as covers for a chain link fence.

Maypop/Passiflora incarnata, xeric to regular water, dies back in Winter, edible  fruit, native to Eastern USA.
This is my newest attempt to find a plant to cover a chain link fence.  So far it has not grown enough to have fruit, but I am hopeful.






Rosa banksia/Lady Bank's Rose, evergreen, many small white or yellow blossoms in the Spring, needs support
Evidently my picture of this isn't on my computer, so I will have to wait until next Spring to provide a picture.

Grape/Vitus vinifera, moderate to regular water, deciduous, common table grape, can be trained on a trellis or as a cover for an arbor, needs support

Wisteria/Wisteria ssp., moderate to regular water,  purple flowers in Spring
I do not know whether this particular Wisteria is a Chinese or a Japanese one, or something else.  I started it from a root cutting from a Wisteria at my parents' house, only to learn that most Wisterias are grafted.  However, it blooms true to the mother plant -- sprays of purple pompoms rather than the usual pea-shaped flowers.  I have not seen another Wisteria with the same flowers.

Whatz that? - Barstow groundcovers

What exactly are groundcovers?  In this posting, I am taking them to be plants that are small enough to walk on or to step across, plants that in general are wider than they are tall, or that expand and form low mounds that are less than 18" high.  I am excluding from this category those grasses that are commonly used for lawns.  I am also excluding low growing annuals and perennials that do not have time to expand and cover much ground, and such plants as low growing cacti.  This list includes those groundcovers that the New Sunset Western Garden Book identifies as appropriate for Sunset zone 11.  The pictures are of those growing in my yard.

Common Yarrow/Achillea millefolium, xeric, white flowers, green all year, bears light foot traffic

Aloe/Aloe sp., xeric, needs shelter in Barstow
I do not know which particular aloe this is, however I like it as it spreads rapidly into a groundcover.

Alyssum/Lobularia maritima formerly Alyssum maritima, xeric, white flowers most of the year
This is an annual, but it reseeds freely enough to cover the ground.
The purple variety quickly reverts to white.

Roman Camomile/Chamaemilium nobilis formerly Anthemis nobilis, moderate water, used for herbal tea
This plant is too scraggly and too short lived to make a good groundcover.  However it has the advantage of reseeding freely.

Ice Plant/Carpobrotus chilensis, xeric, marginal for Barstow

Dwarf Plumbago/Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, moderate water, small blue flowers in summer, partial shade

Rock Spray Cotoneaster/Cotoneaster horizontalis, xeric, not deciduous. small white flowers, red berries in winter
Can be trimmed to be nearly flat.
Unlike its cousin Pyracantha, Cotoneaster does not have thorns.

Ice Plant/Delospermum cooperi, purple flowers, xeric
Spreads to form a mat.

Dichondra/Dichondra micrantha, regular water, marginal in Barstow, looks better in partial shade, can take foot traffic

Winter Creeper/Euonyous fortunei, regular water, partial to full shade, white heart-shaped flowers with red berries
This plant is a vine which can be grown as a groundcover by trimming it back when it starts to climb a wall.
The branches take root and spread.  In a colder climate, the leaves turn red in the Fall, but not in my yard where it is in a sheltered location.

Rosemary/Rosmarinus officionalis is very xeric and reseeds.  Trailing varieties form mounding plants that can be trimmed to be nearly flat.

Yellow Creeping Jasmine/Jasminum nudiflorum, xeric, deciduous, flowers appear before leaves,
more a low sprawling shrub than a groundcover

Carpet Juniper/Juniperus horizontalis, evergreen, xeric
This particular plant has not been in the ground very long.  It would be larger than it is if I gave it more fertilizer.

Lantana/Lantana montevidensis, moderate water, bright colored clusters of flowers all summer, dies back in winter, berries are poisonous
Be sure to get the groundcover variety.

Blackfoot Daisy/Melampodium leucanthum, moderate water
I have this plant on a xeric drip system.  Maybe that is why it is more a straggly flowering plant than it is a groundcover.

Mexican Evening Primrose/Oenothera speciosa formerly Oenothera berlanderii, xeric, sun or partial shade, blooms all summer










Shamrock/Oxalis acetosella, regular water, partial to full shade, pink flowers,
Dies back after blooming, therefore I do not have a picture right now.  Shamrocks are related to the invasive week, Oxalis, but they are not invasive.

Purple Shamrock/Oxalis regnelli, regular water, partial to full shade, white flowers
Dies back after blooming.

Purslane/Portulaca oleracea, regular water, very small yellow flowers
I bought a large-leafed variety for my herb garden, but it didn't like it there.  It reseeded freely in the lawn and I have allowed it to grow because the stems and leaves are edible.  They add a lemony flavor to salads and cooked dishes.  It is considered invasive.

Rose/Rosa, groundcover varieties
These are more nearly sprawling shrubs than they are groundcovers.








 

Biting Sedum/Sedum sediforme, xeric

Reseeds freely, also spreads through rooting of stems.  The flowers are not attractive and when the flowers die, the dried flower stems have sharp edges.

Angelita Daisy/Tetraneuris acaulis formerly Hmenoxys acaulis, xeric, yellow flowers
Forms a slow growing grass-like mat

Verbena/Verbena, xeric, small purple flowers most of the year, reseeds freely









 

Wandering Afield

I spent part of last week in Southern Nevada -- staying in Las Vegas, but touring the local parks.  They must have had a bit more rain than we did this Spring, as there are wildflowers in bloom.

Opuntia

Brittle Bush and Apricot Mallow

Indigo Bush

Pima Rhatany

And of course we saw a bit of the wild life!

Bighorn Sheep

Wild(?) Burro