Parkway plant ideas in Southern California?

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tomas21 May 19, 2010

I have a ranch style house with two parkways totaling about 150ft in Los Angeles. Being water wise I'm trying to find the best alternative to grass; that is drought tolerant, low maintenance, and low to the ground. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Location: Pasadena area (Foothills)
Parkway strips: 4 feet wide, one strip is 50ft with two liquidambar trees and the other strip is 100ft long with two liquidambar trees
Temp: 50 in winter & 100+ in summer
Sun: the front yard faces east so it gets sun from ~10a - ~4p then is shaded by the house blocking this sun

My initial thought was to have a low ground cover to cover the entire parkway that would only be a couple 2-4 inches high. Currently there is no drip or sprinkler lines in the parkways.

Input/feedback is apprecaited

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Chezca Hayward (Z8b-9a), CA(Zone 8b) May 19, 2010

I have a little patch in front of our house and I planted dragon's blood sedum (they turn really really dark red the more sun they get). It's doing great with the most minimal, (if at all) watering. i think sedum groundcovers are perfect for such areas. I also planted a couple of baby english lavenders last year and now they're bushes ^_^! They only got rainwater but they're doing awesome :). If you want some "drama", you might want to check out those yellow flowering sedums (i forgot the name, gold dust? not sure) Hope this helps.

happy gardnin!

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august2003 Beaverton, OR May 19, 2010

How about a beautiful mass of blue flowers? - low maintenance/low water. Ceanothus griseus 'Carmel Creeper' - has glossy green leaves - and beautiful clusters of blue flowers.
Another variety is Ceanothus gloriosus Pt. Reyes - which is only 1' high. Ceanothus is listed on the bewaterwise.com website. Because it is a spreader - plant far apart (6' or so) and it was sugggested to place salvias and monkey flower inbetween while you are waiting for them to fill in. You will need to water initially to establish the plants especially since you get such high temps. Check with your local nursery for the particular variety that would suit your needs best and for detailed instructions on initial care. Do plant now before the heat waves start.

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