High Desert Gardening

Much of the soil in the high desert is very poor. Rocky, sandy or clay soils don't make the best foundation for any but the hardiest of the desert's native plants. To get the best results, amend your soil with triple mix. Mixing it 50/50 with your existing soil should work fine. We made long, shallow mounds of this mixture before planting our garden. It supplies nutrients and holds water better than the typical desert soils.

Create a high desert garden bursting with color from April through October. This natural garden is planted with groupings of drought tolerant perennials and shrubs of varying colors that dominate the garden in stages throughout the seasons.

~May to early June, reds and whites are dominant.
~Late June-July, yellows and purples dominate.
~Late July- Late September, purple,pink and yellow dominate
~October brings white flowering grasses, Pampas and Miscanthus.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF OUR XERIC GARDEN PLANTS

SPRING FLOWERING PLANTS

~ Forsythia
~ Centranthus (Jupiter's Beard), red and white
~ Nepeta faassenii (Purple Catmint)
~ Oenothera berandieri (Mexican Evening Primrose)
~ Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
~ Salvia, purple
~ Sphaeralcea ambigua (Desert Mallow) NATIVE
~ Prunus cistena (purple Leaf Sand Cherry)
~ Dianthus - Firewitch

LATE SPRING/SUMMER FLOWERING PLANTS

~ Achillea (yarrow) Moonshine & Coronation Gold
~ Gaura (whirling butterflies)
~ Perovskia (Russian Sage)
~ Lavandula var. grosso (lavender)
~ Climbing Roses (xeric varieties)
~ Virginia Creeper
~ Tritoma (Torch plant or Red Hot Poker)
~ Agastacge rupestris (Sunset Hysop)
~ Echinacea Purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
~ Pyracantha Yukon Belle (good for higher elevations)
~ Alcea rosea (Hollyhock)

FALL FLOWERING PLANTS

~ Pampas grass
~ Miscanthus Morning Light(variegated maiden grass)
~ Sedum (Autumn Joy)
~ Chrysothamnus nauseosus (Rabbitbrush) NATIVE
~ Artemesia Tridentata (Big Sage) NATIVE

NON-FLOWERING SHRUBS AND GRASSES

~ Nasella Tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass)
~ Photinia Red-Tip
~ Artemesia (wormwood)
~ Juniperus chinensis 'Sargentii'(juniper)

Plantings provide an attractive habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Russian sage and Yarrow produce many seeds that sparrows, finches, warblers, quail and other seed-eating birds enjoy.

Hummingbirds love Jupiter's beard, Sunset Hysop,Honeysuckle, Catmint, Gaura, Roses and Tritoma, though I've seen them work the sage also.

While plants are young and tender, I suggest protecting them from cottontails, if you have them in your yard, but once the plants are mature, the rabbits only nibble and generally don't do much damage.

This applies to Cottontails only, Jack Rabbits will eat full grown plants down to the dirt and I've seen them eat three or four in one sitting! Fence them out! Jacks usually won't bother digging under your fence.

Cottontails enjoy the leaves of the yarrow in early Spring and are fond of the Jupiter's Beard in the late Fall and Winter when they eat the dried stems.

California Quail pick up any seeds that they find on the ground. They scratch up the dirt, looking for food, and they can make quite a mess of your mulch.
But, having them in your yard is worth a little cleanup now and again.

A birdbath is a wonderful way to provide the necessary water birds need to hydrate and bathe. The antics of their bathing rituals can be quite entertaining. We fill ours daily or sometimes twice daily in the heat of summer.

Having a source of food, water, shade and protection will encourage wildlife to stay in your yard so you can enjoy your own wildlife sanctuary.

Making your own hummingbird nectar is easy.
Mix one part sugar with four parts water and bring to a boil. This kills any bacteria or mold.

Then cool the mixture and fill your feeder. Any unused portion of the nectar can be refrigerated and kept for about a week.

Hang your feeder in a shady area that you can see from a window and enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTES

Don't use any red dyes in your nectar. It may be harmful and the feeder will attract the hummers.

Don't use honey. This can cause fatal fungal infections.

Clean the feeder once a week with a mild detergent and rinse carefully. In hot weather it may need cleaning more often.

If the syrup gets cloudy, THAT'S MOLD, so empty and clean it right away if you see this.

1~ Hummingbirds have feet that are only strong enough to perch. They are unable to walk more than an inch or so, and must beat their wings and fly to move any distance.

2~ The world's smallest bird is the bee hummingbird Mellisuga helenae from Cuba. It weighs only 1/10 of an ounce and is 2.5 inches long.

3~ There are over 300 kinds of hummingbirds.

4~ Hummingbirds have large appetites. If humans had the metabolism of a hummingbird they would need to consume 155,000 calories a day.

5~ Hummingbirds can fly in every direction, up, down, backwards, sideways, and upside down. They have wings that power both up and down strokes instead of just down strokes like other birds.

6~ Hummingbird's nests are made from a variety of materials, including moss, hair, leaves, feathers and fibers. They weave the nest together and attach it to branches with spider webs.

7~ Hummingbird mothers are very protective. They will dive-bomb birds as large as hawks if they feel their babies are threatened. They will also protect their young against insects or any other possible predator that even comes close to their nest.

8~ Hummingbirds come in all the colors of the rainbow and some of their feathers actually change color in the light as they are moving.

9~ 90% of a hummingbirds diet is nectar from flowers. They are known as nectivores. The balance of their diet consists of insects.

10~ The fastest hummingbird is the green violet-ear
Colibri thalassinus. They can reach speeds of up to 93 miles an hour for short distances.

When designing your garden spaces, make sure to allow for shady places to rest and reflect on your garden.

A flagstone bench is relatively easy to build with very few tools and a strong back!

You will need the following from your local building/yard supply:

~ Slabs of flagstone (quantity varies with size of bench) It's a good idea to have them delivered near the place you plan to build your bench.
~ A small hand sledgehammer
~ A sharp stone chisel to score the stones along the lines you want it to break
~ An 18" carpenters level
~Also have on hand some clean fine dirt to fill between the layers of stone.

Start with a level,firm ground surface. Place and level the bottom foundation layer using stones of approximately the same thickness.

Add a layer of dirt (approximately 1/2 inch thick) and level the dirt with a straight piece of lath or board.

After adding each new layer of stone, check to make sure it's level.

Save small pieces of stone to use as wedges and leveling pieces as the bench is constructed.

Continue to add layers of stone, then dirt, until the desired height is reached. Keep the most attractive stones for the top layer.

If you wish to have a back on the bench, select a piece of stone of the proper height, remembering that you will need to bury one end at least 6 inches below the lowest level of the bench.

Additional dirt or stone can be used to lock the back into place.

BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN!