Perennials for Xeriscaping, Zone 7 (and zones 2-11)

Hmmmm very interesting conversation...Doc are there particular plants that like the doffee grounds more then others and how frequently do you provide it to the plants. Never knew about shredded newspaper either (note to self - bring paper to work, shred...take home)

I have a huge lasagna bed that has been going since this time last year and it is mostly broke down but I used so much cardboard and whole phone books that they took time since we had a record drought last year until now so it is doing better now. I have cubes of alfalfa pellets everywhere which helped a lot when it was in an area that gets watered regularly but not much in the areas where there was no water.

We are getting a lot of rain so I spread the cubes all around the property. I guess I will need a lot more lasagna beds. My dh hates them because they look so ugly for so long, especially if I have them out front. We have phone book pages blowing around all the time. We have alot of wind here.

This was it from about 5 months ago, atleast in part. It is backed up to this cargo container.

This is it and it will be nice one day but we just started this side at the end of the spring and mid summer so it was too hot and needed more worms besides the lasagna garden issue.

My husband is listening to this old music from Limewire, do you remember that song STRAWBERRY LETTER (SOME NUMBER). I AM IN DISCOland here now. lol

Hellnzn11, I think your beds look fine. I love new beds and hope you post pictures of the finished project. I see a lot of potential! Your phone pages remind me of my coffee filters that escaped. I quit adding them for the neighbor's sake.

ROTFL over the old song! Never heard of them.

If you are over 35 you heard the song but just don't know it by name. I didn't either but he has been trying to download it for a year on Limewire.

Thanks. I need extra topping for the loose paper stuff. The circle area is going to be a memorial bed for my dog Mushi that I had to put down a week ago. ♥ So I am trying to figure out what I will put there for my babies memorial. I need more ammending in that spot. One of my DG friends has too many cannas so she is mailing me some, but I am not sure what else to put in there, it needs to be stuff that stays inbound with the grass there.

I'm so sorry about Mushi. What kind of dog was he/she?

Well, I'm 50 and I guess I'd have to hear it. I'm kind of beyond the disco age : }

Do you let your cannas stay in the ground or do you dig and replant the larger corms each year?

I don't have any, my friend is sending me some she needs to thin the herd. I had some but we flooded that year and they rotted.

Mushi was a black Shar Pei, his daughter is a fawn, I still have her. She is old too.

What are crusher fines?

I found Mushi on the pet forum. I don't usually have time to go there. He was some dog. What a sad story. You gave him your best and that's all they ask.

I have no idea what crusher fines are. Did I write it somewhere?

No up above someone else did, about 10 threads up or so. Thanks. I am better. I just love on his dd when I want to cry.

~ Bump ~


~* Robin ☺

What does bump mean?

People use it to "bump" the thread back up to the top of the page if it's slipped down the page where nobody notices it anymore. Usually people do it if it was their thread and the question they asked hasn't been answered yet, bumping it back to the top of the page means more people will see it. Or I've also seen it used if it was a thread with a lot of good info in it that would be valuable for people to look at again.

^_^ - wink!

What are you doing to bump it up though? Just scrolling or is there a setting I am unaware of?

No Helen, when you reply or post to a thread, it just bumps the thread up to the front page so others can find it, view it & read it.

~* Robin

Ok thanks for the clarification.

saw it too, really nice. I am visiting in Vegas and my friends said that they offered $1100,from the city to remove the grass and put in a xeriscape.

Hi wood_fern,

I recently bought This magazine "All-Seasons Garden Guide" from the Old Farmer 's Almanac now Only $3.99.
It had all the same info that you said. It was really worth it.

Check it out here: http://store.almanac.com/cgi-bin/3F808747/mac/additmdtl.mac/showItemDetail?item=OF08GG&qtyA=860&phsO=N&desc=Garden%20Guide%202008&drpshp=N&alOrd=Y&iQty=.000&oQty=.000&initQty=1&assortParent=N&itemForSale=Y&styleName=&fixD=&face=.00&gftc=&stck=Y&prefS=&calledFrom=DS&ordInfo1=&ordInfo2=&ordInfo3=&ordMan1=N&ordMan2=N&ordMan3=N&persCode=&persReqd=&persLink=%20&shipRemaining=0&daysBetween=0&daysBetweenFix=0&monthsBetween=0

~* Robin

I just got back from a visit w/friends in Vegas and there the growth is so out of hand and off what they ever forsaw when they built the Hoover Dam that now they will pay you to remove your grass and replace it w/ xeriscape.

WoW!! ROTFLMAO

~* Robin

About the Vegas thing?

No.... about the fact that you stated

I wish they'd do that out here...I had to pay a lot of good money to have my lawn removed! lOL

In all the western states they should do that like Edison does when you get a new energy saver appliance or get rid of an old one.

I wish I could see that too. My friend here sent me a great one too and it got me excited because people tend to think boring and sparce, not flowering and lush as it can be done.

hellnzn11,

You posted last year on the fires, and again, over 800 in California were burning at one time. I still love living here though it is a danger. Now if our trees dry up, and we don't use much water in our gardens, will the rest of California go up in smoke too?

I, too, have clay soil, no lawn, and live in a rural area. (Though getting less rural by the minute!) It is 20 miles to the nearest town - Placerville.

I tried mixing sand with clay years ago, and got concrete! Then I tried mulch, perlite and sand, and mixed all that with the clay. For some plants I put in grit at the bottom of the hole and add that to the mix, with the clay. That worked. If I plant anything, I have to make a raised bed over the clay. Yes I amend the clay every year, loads of mulch, where does it go?

For those of you in California, Amend and Gromulch, are good bagged products, as we have no barnyard animals to make proper compost. I tried composting and ended up with an unsightly garbage pile. Maybe I should invest in the commercial compost makers, where everything goes in then comes out compost? Has anyone tried them?

Evelyn, composting is pretty easy, but it does take some effort even with a commercial bin (SO worth it though). Check out the Soil & Composting forum for tips: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/soil/all/

I support Lasagna gardens whole heartedly. It is easy and not fussy like composting in a bin.