Yarrow is Ideal for Xeriscaping

Yarrow is an Ideal Xeriscaping Plant

Yesterday I wrote about xeriscaping  and showed you some examples. Although I didn't recognize yarrow in any of them, I wasn't able to go onto private property for a closer look. Still, yarrow is ideal for xeriscaping because it is drought tolerant, spreads to fill available space, and adds color to the garden in season.  What you see below is along the Charolais Corridor Trail in Paso Robles

Insects on Yellow Yarrow, © B. Radisavljevic

Yarrow in Paso Robles Xeriscapes

If you are on the lookout for it, you will see a lot of yarrow in Paso Robles and the rest of the North County. Both the shot above and the one directly below were taken on the Charolais Corridor Trail between South River Road and Riverbank Lane, ending just across from an entrance to Larry Moore Park. The photo below was taken at the entrance to the trail on Riverbank Lane. On most of the trail, yarrow is mixed with cistus (the pink, purple flowers), rosemary, and cotoneaster. Between them, there is color in almost every season.

Xeriscaping with  Yarrow, © B. Radisavljevic

In autumn, the yarrow flowers dry well and can be used in dry flower arrangements. They are still adding interest even when dry along this trail and at Larry Moore Park, where, as I recall, they have also planted yarrow. I didn't have time to check today to see if it's still there.

Dried Yarrow on Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

Another place I've noticed seeing yarrow in the city is on South Vine Street east to of the Marriott Hotel, in the landscaping of the recently built dental building with the solar panels on the roof. This photo was taken there.

Xeriscaping with  Yarrow on South Vine, © B. Radisavljevic

Insects Are Attracted to Yarrow

In the top photo taken along the trail, you saw at least one fly and another insect which may also be a type of fly. Below is another shot from the xeriscape at the dental  building on South Vine. There you see a very content bee on the yellow yarrow.

Bee on Yellow Yarrow, © B. Radisavljevic

Yarrow Comes in Many Colors

The most common color I see is the yellow, as in the photos above. Common yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) often grows wild with a white flower. The Sunset Western Garden Problem Solver lists it as a weed because it grows wild and is often invasive. I haven't seen it growing wild and white yet. My own yarrow plant, which I currently have confined to a container, is red. It's called a grapefruit yarrow. It is just starting to bloom this week.

Grapefruit Yarrow, © B. Radisavljevic

I've also seen beautiful yarrow plantings at some wineries. I honestly don't remember at which one I took the picture below. The yarrow appears to be next to some sage and lavender, judging just from their leaves.

Yarrow in Mixed Colors, © B. Radisavljevic

Cultivation and Uses of Yarrow

Yarrow likes to grow in the sun. It needs some irrigation until it is established, but then it can usually get along with rain water. It likes a moderately rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.1. It is hardy to Zone 2. Yarrow can adapt to a variety of soils, as long as you don't let its feet get too wet.

Yarrow grows easily from seed, but I started with a nursery plant from a local organic grower. You can divide yarrow plants in spring and fall. I will probably divide mine and put some into a flower bed next fall.

According to Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, people have used yarrow for over 60,000 years. Archaeologists discovered it in fossils in Neanderthal burial caves. Since then people have found many uses for it medicinally, and cosmetically. It has been used for crafts and to make dye. It is said that when planted near other herbs, it will increase the essential oils they produce. This has not been proved.

If you'd like to try growing yarrow, why not look through Amazon's amazing variety of seed choices. I may even get some seed myself, just to try some new colors. Maybe I'll redo my lawn with yarrow, sage, lavender, euphorbia, and rosemary. I'll leave that decision for another day.

If you found this post useful, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning. The yarrow photos in the collage were all taken along the Charolais Corridor Trail. 

This is my twenty-fifth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August
Oleander through the Year
Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
Quince Fruit from Blossom to Table
Roses Are Not Just Red
Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
Tansy and Fruity Teucrium Can be Garden Friends
Urushiol Will Make You Itch
Vetch Runs Wild

Weeds I Love to Hate

Xeriscaping is Essential in Dry Areas
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Related articles

• Santa Cruz officials swap turf for drought-tolerant plants

Xeriscaping is Essential in Dry Areas

Many homeowners in California are discovering xeriscaping -- landscaping that does not depend heavily on irrigation. Ideally it should be able to exist on rainfall once it becomes established. Until then, it usually utilizes drip irrigation. Xeriscapes are normally heavily mulched to conserve the water in the soil. I'd like to show you how some of my neighbors have used xeriscaping to replace part or all of their lawns. Xeriscaping is essential in dry areas like Paso Robles where watering restricted.  

That's why I'm moving in that direction in my own yard. So far I've only gotten as far as no longer watering the lawns and adding only drought-resistant flowers and shrubs. Many of my neighbors have already removed their lawns and replaced them. The yard above even looked bright in December. Below is a February xeriscape of a side yard that runs between a homeowner fence and the street.

Keep in mind that most of these xeriscapes are less than two years old. The herbs which are most often used have not had time to grow and fill their allotted spaces yet.

Another neighbor terraced what was his lawn area and is planting drought resistant flowers, shrubs, and herbs. He's just getting started here on February 25, 2016.

Here's the view today, April 28, 2016. There's been a lot of growth in just two months.

My favorite neighborhood xeriscape is in full bloom. I won't show you the February photo, even though that also looks good. I'd rather give you more views of how it looks on this end of April day. Here's the first view from the front of the house.

After taking the shot above, I walked to the corner to take this diagonal shot that shows more of the plants.

Then I turned the corner and took this side view shot from Riverbank Lane. It gives you the best view of the olive tree in the corner near the garage. You see the olive tree in every photo.

Now I'm looking back diagonally toward the cross street. It doesn't matter from which direction you look, the view is colorful. In February the garden was quite empty in comparison. I think many of these yards are works in progress, and I can hardly wait to see them next year when the shrubs and groundcovers fill out more.

As you see, drought-resistant planting can be beautiful. I personally like this much better than  a lawn. I hope my lawn looks a bit more like it in a couple of years.

Have you started xeriscaping yet?  These books provide some great help in showing you how to xeriscape your yard and replace your lawn with native and drought resistant plants.

 Reimagining the California Lawn:Water-conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs Landscaping with Native Plants of Southern California The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner's Design Guide to Restoring Its Beauty and Balance Life After Lawns: 8 Steps from Grass to a Waterwise Garden WaterWise Landscaping with Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Xeriscape Guide for the Rocky Mountain Region, California, and Desert Southwest

& 

If you found this post useful, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my twenty-fourth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August
Oleander through the Year
Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
Quince Fruit from Blossom to Table
Roses Are Not Just Red
Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
Tansy and Fruity Teucrium Can be Garden Friends
Urushiol Will Make You Itch

Vetch Runs Wild

Weeds I Love to Hate

Related articles

• Lawn Alternatives: Drought Tolerant Ground Covers
• Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
• My Experience with Teucrium Cossonii aka Fruity Germander
• Where the Green Lawns Used to be
• The Browning of Paso Robles

Tansy and Fruity Teucrium Can be Garden Friends

Are Tansy and Fruity Teucrium Compatible Garden Friends?

When I first planted tansy and fruity teucrium together in an oddly shaped corner of my flower bed nearest the street, I had four reasons for doing it.

Tansy and Teucrium First planted in 2013, © B. Radisavljevic

1. They would fit there.
2. They could live in poor soil and required little water
3. They would fill in the space as they grew. 
4. Their flower colors would be complementary to each other

I wanted to fill in that one small triangle tip. I also had heard that tansy was good for repelling ants, so I thought it might be helpful to have some on hand. (It turned out not to repel my ants.) The teucrium would bloom first with its light purple flowers. The tansy would make its big splash of bright yellow in summer and overshadow the teucrium. 

The plants were tiny, as you can see above, when I planted them in June, 2013. I knew tansy could be invasive, and since I was trying to fill space with something that would smother the weeds, I thought its tendency to take over would serve that purpose. I like to pick my weeds. My plan would have worked better had I realized when I planted that I should have planted these tiny herbs farther apart. 

By August 25, 2015, that triangular corner looked like this. The teucrium swallowed the tiny tansy at the very end, but it still peeks through when it finds a way. The tansy does spread, but it also dies back after it blooms in July leaving these empty spaces. That doesn't stop it from trying to invade the teucrium, though. 

Tansy and Teucrium by August, 2015, © B. Radisavljevic

Things to Know about Fruity Teucrium and Tansy

The fruity teucrium is also called fruity germander. It flowers bountifully in spring and fall, but not so much in summer while the tansy is in full bloom. It is dearly loved by bees and butterflies. After the flowers bloom, they turn brown, as you can see above. 

Tansy leaves also turn brown in the summer heat, so it's recommended that when that happens one should cut them them to the ground. According to an article I just read about tansy, if this is done early enough, new foliage may grow out and there may even be a new round of blooming. I'll try to remember that this year. For comparison, this is how my little triangle looked on July, 9, 2014.

Tansy in July, 2015, © B. Radisavljevic

Just so you can get a closer look at the fruity teucrium (or fruity germander), I will show you these photos taken in August, 2015. Here's the whole plant, or at least most of it. These two photos are also part of one of the related articles below. 

Teucrium by August, 2015, © B. Radisavljevic

Here is a closeup of the fruity teucrium flower. 

Close-up of Teucrium Flower, August, 2015, © B. Radisavljevic

I took the photo below today, April 23, 2016. The tansy is reemerging and invading the teucrium. In fall I will probably do some root divisions and move some of these plants to where nothing else but weeds and gazanias will grow. I may have made a mistake in believing tansy and teucrium can be garden friends, but I will leave that for you to decide.  

Tansy and Teucrium Together in April, 2016, © B. Radisavljevic

I share my garden experiments in case the information may help others know what to expect if they do what I have done. Like most home gardeners, I have both successes and failures. I hope something I share in these posts will help you.

Note; Please keep in mind that tansy can be toxic to pets and people. Use it with care.

If you this post useful, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my twentieth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August
Oleander through the Year
Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
Quince Fruit from Blossom to Table
Roses Are Not Just Red

Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden

*** 

Related articles

• My Experience with Teucrium Cossonii aka Fruity Germander
• My Experience Growing Tansy
• How My Garden Has Progressed in Two Years Since 2012

Oleander through the Year

Oleander Seeds Bursting from Pods,
© B. Radisavljevic

I can't ever remember living long in any location where oleander shrubs weren't nearby. They are a staple in California gardens and even freeway plantings because oleander isn't fussy about its soil and it doesn't need any irrigation once established. It actually likes a sunny, hot, dry location. In this post I will show you the life stages of oleander flowers -- how oleander flowers begin and end. The photo to the right shows you both the beginning and end of an oleander flower. We will continue to see how oleander changes through the year.

Since oleander is an evergreen shrub, it adds color and texture to the garden year-round with its long blade-like, dark green leaves. It can also be used on large rural properties where deer roam because it's said that deer won't eat it. Perhaps it's poisonous to them, as well as to people. Children need to be taught not to snack on it, since it can be deadly.

The photo below was taken on April 15, when my oleander was just starting to bud.

Oleander Budding,© B. Radisavljevic

This next photo was taken in June, when my oleander was in full and beautiful bloom.

Oleander Blooming,© B. Radisavljevic

When walking my neighborhood in the summertime, I see neighbors with many shades of oleanders ranging from white and light pink to red. Some neighbors have contrasting colors. This neighbor combined white with light pink.

White and Pink Oleander Blooming Together,© B. Radisavljevic

By October, the oleander flowers are beginning to make their seed pods. As the flowers have been pollinated and die back, what's left turns into one of these long seed pods. Some flowers just die back without making pods.

Oleander Seed Pods,© B. Radisavljevic

This last photo in the series was taken in February. It shows the seed pods bursting and the seeds getting ready to parachute away with the wind. See the close-up of the seeds in the very top photo.

Oleander Seed Pods Splitting,© B. Radisavljevic

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my fifteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch

Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free

"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August

"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August

 "Naked lady" leaves are lying dormant and brown near my pump house wall and along the edges of the mobile home we rent out. In August, though, they will reemerge and shoot up for all to see.  After a period in summer where they look almost dead, the "naked ladies" bloom  in August  on the Central Coast of California. 

They are a tradition for me. I was introduced to them when I was but a toddler, since they grew in the yard of the first home I remember. That was my childhood home in Bellflower, California, where my dad had a large vegetable garden, fruit trees that spoiled me forever after by letting me taste peaches, plums, and apricots fresh off the tree, and a fence that acted as a trellis for climbing berries. It was also the house where my dad raised chickens when I was little.

The naked lady flower’s scientific name is Brunsvigia rosea. It is better known as the Amaryllis belladonna.  It likes a warm, dry summer, such as those we have in southern and central California, though it’s native to South Africa.  In fall and winter it produces a clump of green, wide, ribbon-like leaves that are rather floppy.  It resembles a green fountain.  In this photo taken in mid-April, the leaves are still green, but the plants have had no care this year and were overgrown with weeds.

Amaryllis Leaves in April, © B. Radisavljevic

When the weather gets dry, the leaves die. Just about the time you think the plant is dead, about August here, up pop bare stems that have clusters of fragrant pink trumpet-shaped flowers at the top.  The photo at the top focuses on just the flower.  The photo below shows the naked stems, as well. The top flowers have already faded and are trying to form seeds. I had to cut them to prevent that after all flowers had bloomed.

Amaryllis Flowers in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic

Amaryllis flowers are great for drought resistant gardens. I had planned to divide these and dig out some bulbs when they finished blooming and plant them in my Paso Robles garden for added color, but I didn't get around to it.

Amaryllis plants prefer to grow in well-drained soil and all their water needs are met by the winter rains. That fits the description of my side yard pretty well. Maybe next year I'll get them planted.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my fourteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for LunchLion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free

Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange

I once had lion's tail in my garden. I first planted it in 2013, hoping that since it was a perennial shrub, it would give me many years of orange flowers.  It did not bloom until August. (See photo at right.) It was supposed to grow big -- maybe as big four to six feet wide and tall. I left lots of room for it, because it's supposed to be very colorful. I was hoping that since it did not really need dry season irrigation it would become a large splash of orange filling a good portion of my side flower bed toward the street. It never happened. Now it appears my lion's tail, instead of becoming a perennial summer burst of orange, has disappeared.

By September 1, the plant had grown to what you see below. I still had high hopes for it.

Lion's Tail in Bloom September 1, 2013,© B. Radisavljevic

By the end of September, it was as you see it below. It was beginning to spread.

Lion's Tail in Bloom September 28, 2013,© B. Radisavljevic

One day I walked into Home Depot, and this is what I saw in their garden department.

Lion's Tail in Bloom at home Depot, © B. Radisavljevic

I was hoping my lion's tail plant would be at least this size someday, but now I can't find it at all. It's a perennial that is frost sensitive. A frost may have killed it. Because of all my surgeries last year during the lion's tail late summer blooming season, I wasn't out taking photos of my garden. I don't remember seeing it last year.

It did bloom in summer of 2014 (see above photo), but it certainly never grew to become like its big brothers at Home Depot. I see no trace of it in my flower bed now where I think it was. Perhaps it's hiding and will  pop up again in late summer. Or, perhaps, it was a plant that failed in my garden.

Originally I was going to write about Lamb's Ears, which is thriving in my garden, but I've already written about lamb's Ears here.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of this post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my twelfth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy

E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved

Kale for Lunch