The new garden is still entirely in the planning stage—that half-fantasy, half-high-precision virtual mode. It’s the stage when one assumes—quite rashly—that rare native plants listed in gardening books will necessarily be available locally or at least from online retailers.
I enjoyed reading about your plans which sound so sensible and make me wish I’d thought more about setting up our garden before jumping in boots and all. I did try, but I’m the kind of gardener who has to have one of everything within the constraints of climate and there’s no trusting me in a nursery! I love the countryside you have around you. Such broad expanses and wonderful views of wether approaching. It all sounds very exciting.
Amy, if your garden is a small fraction as beautiful as your words, it will be exquisite. I love Kris P's suggestion for rain harvesting. A friend in Cape Town did a magnificent job during their severe drought with all sorts of containers, small and large. I was thinking you may be able to get 44 gallon drums over there, I believe you call them 55 gallon drums, i was thinking that may work for rain catching, but they are very expensive there. I know the birds and butterflies will love your new home and garden, I wonder if some prickly pears would encourage them. Lots of love, luck and beauty to you.
How exciting to start from scratch Amy. Your views are fabulous! Planning and dreaming is such fun and having an idea of what you are aiming for makes it easier to put into practice. I will enjoy following your progress and learning more about desert plants. 😃
With your thoughtful approach and prior experience to call on, I'm sure you'll strike the right balance between dreams and plans, Amy. Fourteen inches of rain is close to the "normal" amount for Los Angeles, although during the current "water year" (calculated from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021), we've had just 4 inches. If there's any room in your plan for rain collection tanks, I encourage you to factor that in, especially as your area gets so much of its rain from monsoonal conditions. If I had the room for it, I'd install one of the huge metal cisterns I saw in Texas years ago. I have 3 much smaller tanks, ranging in size from 50 to 265 gallons, to collect the rainwater that sheets from our roofs but that is quickly exhausted in a year like this one. If you haven't already read it, you might also like to read 'Under Western Skies' by Jennifer Jewell, which covers a wide range of western gardens including some in Arizona and New Mexico.
I enjoyed reading about your plans which sound so sensible and make me wish I’d thought more about setting up our garden before jumping in boots and all. I did try, but I’m the kind of gardener who has to have one of everything within the constraints of climate and there’s no trusting me in a nursery! I love the countryside you have around you. Such broad expanses and wonderful views of wether approaching. It all sounds very exciting.
Amy, if your garden is a small fraction as beautiful as your words, it will be exquisite. I love Kris P's suggestion for rain harvesting. A friend in Cape Town did a magnificent job during their severe drought with all sorts of containers, small and large. I was thinking you may be able to get 44 gallon drums over there, I believe you call them 55 gallon drums, i was thinking that may work for rain catching, but they are very expensive there. I know the birds and butterflies will love your new home and garden, I wonder if some prickly pears would encourage them. Lots of love, luck and beauty to you.
How exciting to start from scratch Amy. Your views are fabulous! Planning and dreaming is such fun and having an idea of what you are aiming for makes it easier to put into practice. I will enjoy following your progress and learning more about desert plants. 😃
With your thoughtful approach and prior experience to call on, I'm sure you'll strike the right balance between dreams and plans, Amy. Fourteen inches of rain is close to the "normal" amount for Los Angeles, although during the current "water year" (calculated from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021), we've had just 4 inches. If there's any room in your plan for rain collection tanks, I encourage you to factor that in, especially as your area gets so much of its rain from monsoonal conditions. If I had the room for it, I'd install one of the huge metal cisterns I saw in Texas years ago. I have 3 much smaller tanks, ranging in size from 50 to 265 gallons, to collect the rainwater that sheets from our roofs but that is quickly exhausted in a year like this one. If you haven't already read it, you might also like to read 'Under Western Skies' by Jennifer Jewell, which covers a wide range of western gardens including some in Arizona and New Mexico.