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As we have all felt the sweltering heat and reprocussions of such an intense summer, the question still remains….when will we get any rain? After intensly studying the radar and weather forecast every morning I do believe it is not a question of when we will get rain; but now, what do we do in the absence of rain? Planning watering schedules and monitoring plant needs has become a necessity, and luckily we have “weathered the un-storm”. During our Landscape Design and Construction course, we were looking at plant selections and generally decided to choose plants that could withstand drought and by golly I am thankful for that! This was the original intent which has so wonderfully worked in our favor. So what were our shining stars?Heliotrope arborescens ‘Marine’
Heliotrope was chosen for its wonderful fragrance and plentiful blooms, another great plus? It is more fragrant when kept on the dry side!
Calamintha nepeta ‘White Cloud’
Also chosen for it’s fragrance and drought tolerance
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
A true stand-out in the garden. Salvia’s are fragrant, yes, but not only does this variety have a stunning purple-black calyx which contrasts wonderfully with it’s deep blue flower; it is drought tolerant and did just fine without staking because of the protected area.
Schizachyrium scoparium ‘The Blues’
We were originally a little concerned with this ornamental grass because it was going to be containerized but it performed just fine and added a nice architechtural form to the east side of the plot
Carex pensylvanicum
Also a slight concern but did amazingly well considering the conditions. This filled in so nicely and really stood out the way we wanted it to as an urban turfgrass. We have been recieving requests all over the place for these plants after demolition!
A few applications of liquid feed, and merely two applications of a slow realease fertilizer carried us through the summer quite nicely.
