Xeric

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plants and landscape (xeriscape) adapted to an arid environment

Why I Garden #42

Submitted by TimJFowler on Fri, 2014/08/29 - 2:59pm
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Lanceleaf Coreopsis blooming

Lanceleaf Coreopsis, aka Coreopsis lanceolata L., is yet another native perennial growing in our yard. Lanceleaf Coreopsis is a member of Asteraceae (the Aster family) and it has been blooming for the past month or so. While this flower is currently a single plant, I'm hoping it will spread via rhizome or seed across our yard.

More Info:

Plant Fact Sheet - Lance-Leaf Coreopsis

Coreopsis lanceolata

Why I Garden #41

Submitted by TimJFowler on Fri, 2014/08/15 - 2:21pm
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Mexican Hat flower closeup

Yellow Prairie Coneflower & Mexican Hat are two color variations of Ratibida columnifera a native, perennial flower we have scattered across our front, side and back yards. Once I learned to recognize their leaves in the early season (sometimes a native plant can look like a weed to untrained eyes) these yellow and/or red daisy-like flowers started growing around our home. Bees love these tough and colorful coneflowers.

More Info:

Why I Garden #40

Submitted by TimJFowler on Fri, 2014/08/01 - 10:31am
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Common Yarrow in bloom

Common Yarrow, a.k.a. Plumajillo, blooming in our front yard. Another native perennial, yarrow has slowly grown and spread despite the ongoing drought. With a little rain it blooms and the pollinators love it.

More Info:

Wikipedia - Achillea Millefolium

USDA - Plant Fact Sheet - Common Yarrow

How to Make it Rain

Submitted by TimJFowler on Sun, 2014/07/27 - 3:55pm
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Kitchen Garden & Coop Tour 2014 - Waiting Out the Hail Storm

Have you ever wondered how to make it rain? The folks at Home Grown New Mexico may have figured it out. For the second year in a row the Kitchen Garden and Coop Tour has concluded with a downpour. I can't think of a more fitting end to a tour of permaculture gardens, water catchment systems and chicken coops than a powerful rainstorm.

Why I Garden #38

Submitted by TimJFowler on Sun, 2013/10/20 - 4:35pm
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Olla and encircling root bowl

A tale of a full moon, a hard frost, green tomatoes and eight dirty ollas.

Why I Garden #37

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2013/09/18 - 12:09pm
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Purple Asters - Machaeranthera bigelovii

Folks around Santa Fe call these flowers Purple Aster when they pop up in late summer / early fall. Apparently Aster bigelovii has quite a few pseudonyms including Bigelow's Tansyaster, Sticky Aster and more scientifically Machaeranthera bigelovii or Dieteria bigelovii var. bigelovii. Regardless of what they're called we have a few of these self-seeded native wildflowers growing in one of the beds around our home.

Gardens and Chickens and Goats, Oh My!

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2013/08/07 - 2:00pm
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Garden & Coop Tour 2013 - Friendly Goat

Once again it is high summer and time for garden tours. Santa Feans have a selection of garden tours to choose from. Tours range from Behind Adobe Walls and the Botanical Gardens to gardens that are a bit more home grown. As our garden is relatively modest I find inspiration from similarly DIY gardens.

Catching Water and Butterflies

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2013/07/24 - 11:06am
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Monarch Butterflies at the Museum Hill Botanical Garden

It is the height of summer and gardens are (or should be) at their best. Our garden is recovering from a hailstorm, so I must look elsewhere for verdant finery. Conveniently, the Santa Fe Botanical Garden at Museum Hill held their grand opening last weekend and our family toured the newly planted grounds. I've seen a few botanical gardens in my day and many focus on obscure and exotic plants from far-flung corners of the globe.

Old-tech Irrigation with Ollas

Submitted by TimJFowler on Tue, 2013/06/04 - 10:24am
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Olla factory at Growing Awareness Urban Farm

The Southwest isn't wet in the best of times and during a drought, like Right Now, it is downright parched. How do you keep a garden growing when the rain doesn't fall? We have to irrigate, but how can we irrigate effectively with scarce water? Drip irrigation is one modern answer, but ancient people had a simpler version of the same idea.

Why I Garden #35

Submitted by TimJFowler on Mon, 2013/04/29 - 1:15pm
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Golden Currant, blooming

Once again the natives in our garden shine despite the drought. This Golden Currant (Ribes aureum) has grown steadily, if slowly, in a far corner of the yard. It has bloomed for the first time this spring, bringing an unexpected splash of bright yellow. I wish I could take credit for the flowers, but this perennial has grown and thrived with only infrequent watering. I'm hopeful that there will be a few currants to eat come the fall.

More Info:

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