My big mouth

Hi I just came to the xeriscaping forum because of my big mouth . We have a rather large traffic island in our local town beach parking lot that is pitiful, all weeds with hosta yucca and a tired old hydrangia .My big mouth said we should make it a community flower garden and an example of how xeriscaping can work 2 of my neighbors and I are meeting with the town next week . ( I live in a town where irrigation systems are discracefully abundant) I have untill the spring to plan this space but I could use some help from people who have more experience than me. the island is oval and about 40 feet at the longest and maybe 30 feet wide . The town will be willing to help but we have to figure out what needs to be done
any suggestions ?

I would start out by finding a native plant society in your area--they should have great suggestions on what will grow well in your area. Plants that are native to your area should do well without additional watering once they're established. Traditional "xeriscape" plants are often plants that are native to dry climates in the West/Southwest and may not do well at all in your climate (some may not be hardy, others may not enjoy your summer rainfall, etc), so I think going the native route is your best bet.

i agree but there are some that would be ok like maybe coyote brush(baccharis pilularis) there are several evergreen, mostly ground covers, but there is a more lime green variety that can grow real tall and be pruned into shapes or a hedge, but I think you could grow it because it lives where Ilive,in the high desert we have real high temps,real low temps,like 3or 4 mo.freezing,some snow,wind and i live in a flood zone. we don`t get a lot of rain here but it did the best the year it was submerged for 2 mo. under water. Get a sunset Western Gardening book and it will help you beyond measure.

I still think looking for local natives is the best bet--I agree that there may be some things that survive in the CA high desert (or other locations in the west and southwest) that would also work in zone 6 Massachusetts, but there are going to be a lot of others that run into problems as I mentioned above with hardiness or not liking summer rainfall. Many CA plants will be fine with rain or even flooding in the winter because that's the conditions they've evolved under, but the second you expose them to too much water in the summer when soil temperatures are warm, they will die of fungal infections. I'm not familiar with Baccharis specifically, but I know it's true of many CA natives which makes them not appropriate for climates back east where there is summer rainfall.

Here are a couple links to native plants or native plant societies for MA to give you some ideas.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rdsduse/ma.htm
http://www.newfs.org/nps.htm (this lists a couple of organizations in different parts of the state, wasn't sure where you were but hopefully one of these will work for you)

Your probably right. ecrane.

Laura~The hostas and hydrangea would be happier in some shade. The yuccas can stay, and offer an evergreen, very architectural presence to your xeriscape. Other drought tolerant plants you could try are yarrow, gaillardia, sedum, and ornamental grasses. Salvias and artemisia as well. Elaeagnus pungens (thorny olive) would do okay, but may be considered invasive. I agree with ecrane and hell, you need to be responsible, and set an example, by planting lots of natives and steering clear of trouble-makers.

Are you sure that island is 30 feet wide?? And 40 feet long?? It doesn't look that large in the photo. Anyway, take careful measurements; using a steel tape measure and a friend to hold one end for you, record the measurements (write them down) on your oval sketch. Take careful note of the mature heights and widths of the proposed plants you want to use in your design, and cut pictures of them out of plant catalogs. Then, have some fun re-arranging them on your sketch until you're satisfied with your layout. :0)

Hi everyone I might have exagerated the size of the island but it sure looked a lot bigger after I opened my big mouth! lol As we get close to planting I will measure but it is big . I met with the town park director and we talked about how much support we could expect from them and to my delight they will clean out the bed add compost and a few evergreen shrubs for the center.Then when we are done she wants to try a new mulch that companies are marketing to them made of recycled tires? I want to research it and make sure it is something that would be ok with perenials . I have been making a list in my head of plants we should try , ones that have long bloom , can take some dry conditions Yarrow, Moonshine - geranium, roseanne- gaillardia , oranges and lemons mecanthis morning light is a favorite of mine but it blooms so late in the season here ( mine didn't bloom untill the middle of september ) . How do you think rosa knockout would do? I am not quite sure it will get FULL sun but it will be close . I want to be sure to put in things that don't reseed rampantly (like hysop) what about lavender? chocolate- joe pye weed ?Flipendula? One disapointing thing that is going on is that when the other woman who is working on this with me contacted the man who planted the hosta he was a little snippy and said he didn't care what we did as long as he got his hostas back! they are the generic hosta that gets so tattered looking and the reason he put them in that bed in the first place was because he has about a million of them!
I sort of wonder if the other woman handled it well. She is a lovely woman but a little lacking in social finese. "garden in the woods"(NEWFS) is very close to me so I will use them as a source. What we are hoping to achieve is a lush looking flower bed without a irrigation system to demonstrate that plants can surrvive and thrive without wastefull abuse of our resources
laura

Laura~Please don't use that rubber tire mulch. It smells like rubber tires in the heat, and is toxic to plants. I posted a link with more information for you. IMO it's one of the biggest rip-offs perpetrated on the horticultural community.

http://www.paghat.com/rubbermulch.html

Sorry to hear that you're getting embroiled in politics. Just remember to keep your head and don't do or say anything you wouldn't want broadcast on the nightly news, LOL.

Chocolate eupatorium likes shadier conditions, the roses and miscanthus would look nice together. As far as evergreens go, yews are probably going to be your best bet. Keep in mind that everything needs to be watered the first year, that's what "until established" means, LOL.

I didn't like the sounds of the recyled tires for mulch either . thanks for the info . I can use it to back up my argument .The Park and Recration department was looking for a place to try it out and because it was in a contained area that doesn't sit up next to a lawn they thought it would be a good place to try it . They are nice people but I don't think they get some things we gardeners find obvious. I thought of getting the plants established and scouted out the nearest water spicket I think my garden hoses will reach. I think you are right about he chocolate eupatorium I have some in full sun tucked in near a rose of sharon and it does ok but it doen't like to be baked exspecially without lots of water , so good call can you think of an ornimental grass that flowers mid season?
laura

I agree about not using the tire mulch, there was a thread somewhere on here a while ago talking about it, unfortunately the search function is down so I can't find it for you! In that thread, it was in the context of someone putting it down in their children's play area, and the general thought was that the rubber mulch was not a good thing to have around your kids either. Personally I would never use the stuff!

they ( the company who makes it ) told her ( the park and rec comissioner) of course that it was safe to use on playgrounds but my little BS sensor went off but not having any knowlage about it I didn't argue the point
I should always listen to my BS sensor
Laura

lol oh ya, Us Women have a real keene sensor for a reason.

Laura~ You could use Pennisetum seteceum 'Rubrum', it has contrasting burgundy foliage too. You can buy it and plant it in late spring, by mid-summer it will triple in size. Unfortunately, it is annual. But it's not expensive, and readily available. It doesn't like it too dry, so maybe add some of those water-retaining crystals to the soil.

I love the contrasting foliage too I will write that down! I was thinking about a purple leaf sambucus also. It would get big so it might be a good anchor plant along with a few evergreens. Annuals really help fill in especially the first few years when things are small. I have some snap dragons that are 2 feet wide and still flowering
laura

Laura~What are the berm's measurements? You really need the dimensions before you pick the plants.

Evergreens generally need to be watered, except yews and yuccas, at least here they are bullet-proof. I would stick to easy care sun-lovers. The fountain grass gets 5 feet tall, that would surely be attention getting in the center of the island, with Morning Light in the middle for winter interest. A few yews encircling the grasses, and a couple of yuccas off to one side? Use sedum in place of the hostas at the edge of the bed, if you don't cut them down they add structure in winter. Then fill in between the evgs and the sedum with salvia and yarrow, they spread a lot so should fill in really well by the end of summer. Maybe Moonshine and Paprika yarrow with a blue salvia. Just an idea to get you started.

A couple other thoughts I had:

Re mulch, does your town pick up limbs and chip them? If so, maybe you could get some free wood mulch?

Also, enlist the hosta guys "help" by calling him yourself and explaining what you're trying to do, ie create a drought-tolerant bed that won't require extra irrigation. Tell him he's free to dig up "his" hostas by such and such date, but that they are frying in the sun. Maybe sweeten him up by offering him the hydrangea? Maybe he's just a grumpy old guy, and he'll be snippy to you too. Maybe not, who knows?

Here's another link I found. (You know, I forgot to tell you I have full-sun in my own front yard, so I've got some experience with these conditions).

http://www.ecostudies.org/lma_sun_perennials.html

My town mulches lots of their properties so I am sure they will just mulch it when they do the rest I think they were looking for a place to try the tire stuff out and maybe get a free sample .

As for the hosta guy I was thinking just that, I will let him know when the bed will be cleaned out and leave it up to him to come and collect his hosta. I think he just got his nose out of joint because he lives right next to the bed and was interested enought to plant hosta there in the first place so he feels a sort of ownership towards it and I am not sure how the other lady approched him I will straighten it out ; )
thanks!
Great link by the way!

Sounds like you're enjoying yourself again, now that you've got it covered, so that's great. Please don't forget to post the final result! I can't stand the suspense.

I really hate it when people say "what should I do about ...?" and then you never see what they finally decided to do.
LOL

As a former Park Planner for a municipality in Oregon, I've seen projects like this over the years and have done 2 similar ones myself. I have several questions for you to consider:

What is the function of the island? Is it just something to look at or will people wander to and/or through it? How far away will it be viewed from? Passing cars or up close pedestrians? Check the existing plantings up close to see if there are any 'trails' through the island that people have created over time. If there are, then some sort of path would be in order. If you are wanting this to serve as a xeriscape example, you might want people to view it more closely so consider if it's big enough to warrant a path or sitting area in the middle with a bench or something.

Under no circumstances would I use the rubber 'mulch'. That stuff will heat up and kill the plants. I'd also be worried about the soil under it getting enough oxygen. There's a rubber mulch-like substance that's used for shock absorption under playgrounds but that's the only place I'd ever recommend it and even then I'm not sure the added properties are worth the much greater expense. I wouldn't go near that stuff with a 10-foot pole.

me either and rubber is a petrolium product isn`t it?

Laurawege
How nice it is to see you taking an interest in your area, I have found that gardening folks are the kind that care.
You have been getting some great ideas and information on this project and I hope you post the "completed" photo too.
I am not sure how your area has the barberry's, they are bushes, listed but I have found the smaller ones with the dark red leaves to be full of color and the lime green ones just pop.
We had them banned for 20 years of so due the the wrong idea that they carried a wheat insect that would damage crops. They were reintroduced with great succes.
Have fun with your project!
Ann

I tried those in my area, but it got too hot or not enough drainage. they are cute

thanks for the encouragment!
Bindersbee the island is there to devide in coming and out going traffic into the beach parking lot so people will be viewing it mostly from their cars . so we don't want to add a path or any other invitation to come in as it could be dangerous with the summer beach traffic and all the kids
laurawege

here is the transformation of the beach garden
last august

september it was cleared

and here is how it looks now

woops this is a pic of when it was cleared

You did it now the city or county is going to want you to do more, you watch, it will turn into a job. Great job btw, what did you plant?

it was a really fun project and I think I choose plants that will do well

I know I know I just couldn't resist doing this project because it was such a waist of a great space for a garden . now the trick will be to keep it up!

here is the list of what I planted 3 Hemerocallis Stella De Oro & hyperion
3 Miscanthus | sinensis | | Morning Light
9 Nepeta | x faassenii Catmint | Dropmore
3 Baptisia | australis.blue False Indigo
6 Astilbe | x arendsii *
3 Geranium, Cranesbill macroizum
6Achillea | |Greek Yarrow | Moonshine
3 Hardy Chrysanthemum | Sheffield*
5 Phalaris | arundinacea | Ribbon Grass, *
9 Sedum Showy Stonecrop | Autumn Joy *
3 Iris | sibirica Siberian Iris*
1 kerria*
6 phylox creeping moss*
* came from my garden the rest were bought by the town

awsome job, well done, pat your bad self on the back.

Beautiful!!

It looks very nice. Good job!

Awesome!! Don't know how it happened, but this dropped off my list. I was wondering how it all turned out. How are the plants holding up?
How did the astilbes do, don't they need shade? If they survived, remember don't cut back the dried blooms, keep them for winter interest and also that protects the crown of the plants.
More pictures please. ;0)

i was just there today to weed but id didn't take any pictures . everthing looks good I will post pics asap . I am amazed that the plants look so good with the dry weather we have had ! the miscanthus look great! and the nepita droopmore are flowing their little heads off . chaulk one up for Xeriscaping!
laura

ps I have not watered since the beging of july
laura

That is the bomb girl

finally , I went down and took a picture to post. I am amazed that the plants have done so well here in eastern massachusetts we have had a record drought I have not watered since mid july ! The thing that I noticed is that the miscanthus has not produced its plumes yet . I imagine that they will arrive when we get some rain, we had sprinkles over night but it didn't even wet the surface.
thanks for the advise you gave when I was planning this little garden it has been a big success I can't wait to see how everything over winters
laura

That looks great laura! I have a grass (korean feather reed) that I have had in the ground for two years. It did not flower (plumes) the first year at all, but it has plumes now, and the root ball is practically out of the soil. (I planted it on a berm that I didn't let settle before planting, using the no-dig method of layering compost and leaves on top of cardboard.) Anyway. Have patience with those ornamental grasses, they are so worth it! Love the catmint! :-)