Blog Archives - Page 7 of 15 - Summer-Dry | Celebrate Plants in Summer-Dry Gardens

15 11, 2021

What is a Drought-Tolerant Plant?

What is a Drought-Tolerant Plant?

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:30:29-07:00Categories: Blog, Water, Climate|Tags: water issues, nora harlow, climate|

Many plants are advertised or described as drought-tolerant, but what, if anything, does that tell us? Drought-tolerant where? Drought-tolerant when? Drought-tolerant if . . . what? By now, with unusually dry weather increasingly common worldwide, most gardeners likely are aware that drought itself may be defined in different ways, depending on one's perspective. Heteromeles arbutifolia (toyon) At the risk of oversimplifying, meteorological drought is lower than normal precipitation. Hydrological drought is lower than normal streamflow or groundwater levels. Agricultural drought is inadequate soil moisture for specific crops. Socioeconomic drought is insufficient water supply to meet demand. Ecological drought is insufficient

21 10, 2021

Sasanqua Camellias

Sasanqua Camellias

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:30:27-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, shrubs|Tags: great plants, nora harlow, shrubs|

There was a time, not that long ago, when sasanqua camellias were less well known to most gardeners and less often grown in gardens than japonicas, but that time has surely passed. Of the dozens of sasanquas available from specialty nurseries and online, a few can even be found in the gardening sections of big-box stores. 'Yuletide' on a frosty winter morning There are many reasons for the popularity of Camellia sasanqua and its abundant offspring, especially in summer-dry climates. Most camellias do best in mild, humid climates with regular summer water, but established sasanquas, with afternoon shade

8 10, 2021

Parrotia persica

Parrotia persica

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:30:25-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, trees, shrubs|Tags: great plants, nora harlow, trees, shrubs|

A connoisseur's tree, Parrotia persica or Persian parrotia offers a virtual kaleidoscope of colors and textures from one season to another and over the years. Through the seasons the deeply veined, serrated, broadly oval leaves of this deciduous, multitrunk or low-branching tree turn from spring's bronzy purple to summer's rich green to a sometimes astonishing fall combination of reds, oranges, yellows, and even pinks. Individual trees can vary widely in their fall display, and not every year brings the exact same colors at the same times on the same tree. Parrotia persica leaves in fall color Adding to

21 09, 2021

Wild Buckwheats

Wild Buckwheats

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:30:24-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, groundcovers, shrubs, perennials, California Native|Tags: california native, nora harlow, shrubs, perennials|

What could be more emblematic of the summer-dry/winter wet, semi-arid, and arid climates of western North America than the wild buckwheats? Annuals, perennials, and low to medium or tall shrubs, one or more species of Eriogonum is native from western Canada to Baja California and throughout much of the intermountain west. More than 100 species are native to California, from seaside cliffs to rocky alpine outcrops. Eriogonum grande var. rubescens Most of the buckwheats commonly available to gardeners are shrubs or shrubby perennials with green to gray-green or silvery gray leaves and masses of tiny flowers in small,

11 09, 2021

Grevillea ‘Austraflora Fanfare’

Grevillea ‘Austraflora Fanfare’

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:30:19-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, groundcovers|Tags: nora harlow, ground covers|

Dozens of grevilleas have moved in and out of the nursery trade over the years, mostly medium to large shrubs and a few mounding groundcovers with needlelike, narrowly oval, or finely divided leaves and intriguing flowers typically described as either "spidery" or brushlike. Grevillea ‘Austraflora Fanfare’ Grevillea 'Austraflora Fanfare' is distinctive for its nearly flat, widespreading habit and its long, dark green leaves deeply lobed in sawtooth fashion. Less than a foot tall and spreading 10-15 feet wide, the dense foliage drapes over walls and cascades down banks, prominently displaying the pinkish red, one-sided, brushlike flowers from late

17 08, 2021

Ornamental Alliums

Ornamental Alliums

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:27:55-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, Nora Harlow|Tags: great plants, nora harlow, bulbs|

I've always loved the delicate little alliums native to the west coast of North America and have long ignored the larger Mediterranean and Asian species, especially their highly bred, look-at-me cultivars, as just too formal or artificial-looking for my laid-back, mostly summer-dry garden. Allium unifolium, native to coastal mountains from southern Oregon to northern Baja California But, in much the same way that yellow flowers come to be appreciated by maturing gardeners as the youthful obsession with pinks and lavenders gives way, plants once considered unsuitable may eventually be seen as welcome counterpoints. Allium aflatunense seedheads and

23 07, 2021

The Carbon Capture Garden

The Carbon Capture Garden

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:27:54-07:00Categories: Blog, grasses, trees, shrubs, perennials, Nora Harlow, carbon capture|

Carbon capture is widely viewed as a promising means of slowing global warming by reducing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, one of a number of gases responsible for trapping heat and warming the earth’s surface. Carbon dioxide produced by industrial processes can be captured at its source and injected underground. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is naturally taken up by plants, which transform the gas into a form that can be stabilized and stored in soil. Carbon capture is maximized by a diverse planting of deeply rooted trees, shrubs, and perennials, minimally pruned, with no pesticides and soil left undisturbed as