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.
