Xeriscaping: Drought-tolerant Landscaping

Seasonal Planting Guide

Now is the perfect time to plant a variety of bulbs and flowers for vibrant blooms in the coming seasons:

• Spring-blooming bulbs: Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus should be planted now for beautiful flowers next spring.
• Fall garden flowers: Chrysanthemums provide bright color and can be planted immediately.
• Garlic: Plant cloves now, keep them watered and weeded through winter, and harvest large bulbs next June.
• Cool-season annuals: Replace summer annuals with pansies, violas, snapdragons, stock, and calendulas.
• Wildflowers: Broadcast wildflower seeds with the first rains; they will take root over winter and bloom next spring.

Xeriscaping: Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

With recent droughts and the return of rain, now is an ideal time to design water-efficient landscaping. Xeriscaping (from the Greek xeros, meaning "dry") focuses on minimal irrigation by using drought-tolerant plants suited to your site’s sun and shade conditions. Group plants by water needs to optimize resources.

Recommended Xeric Plants

• Shrubs: Rockroses, California wild lilac, lavender, rosemary, cotoneaster, manzanitas, and junipers thrive in dry conditions, offering varied textures and sizes for large spaces, slopes, or rock gardens.
• Perennials for color:
  • Yarrows: Low-maintenance with fern-like foliage and flat clusters of flowers. Varieties include:
    • ‘Red Beauty’ (low-growing, 18-inch stems)
    • ‘Moonshine’ (2 feet tall)
    • ‘Coronation Gold’ (up to 4 feet tall)
  • Coreopsis (golden yellow flowers, long bloom season)
  • Lamb’s Ear (drought-tolerant, fuzzy foliage)
  • Echinaceas and Rudbeckias (summer-blooming cone-flowers)
  • Gaillardias and red-hot poker plants (vibrant summer blooms)
  • Red Valerian (rosy-pink flowers on tall stems, reseeds easily)
• Salvias: ‘May Night’ salvia forms neat clumps with 18-inch spikes of dark purple flowers, ideal for mixed borders.
• Sedums: Succulents perfect for sunny, well-drained spots. Varieties include:
  • ‘Cape Blanco’ (low-growing, silver-gray foliage)
  • ‘Autumn Joy’ (24 inches tall, bright pink flowers)
• Wildflower mixes: Broadcast seeds now for a naturalized look. Common mixes include California poppy, lupine, purple coneflower, and gaillardia.

Designing with xeriscape plants conserves water while creating a sustainable, low-maintenance landscape.