Xeriscaping: garden

flowers for low-water landscapes

James R. Feucht1

Quick Facts
Garden flowers provide a means for a showy, colorful display in a xeriscape. Soils should be improved before planting most flowers. Soil improvement is easier if only annual flowers are used for the first year or two. Perennial garden flowers should not be planted until soils are improved. Plant flowers according to the exposure of the site. Spring-flowering bulbs are drought-evaders and thus make good flowers for a xeriscape.

Garden flowers provide a means for showy, colorful displays to complement trees and shrubs in a xeriscape (pronounced zer-i-skap), a waterconserving landscape. Once an overall plan for your yard is made as suggested in Service in Action sheet 7.228 and the trees and shrubs are selected and planted as described in sheet 7.229, you can add color with garden perennials and annuals. Such plans can be integrated with shrub borders and groupings of trees or they may be put in their own beds along fences, walls, walks and patios.

Figure 1: Black-eyed-susan provides late summer color. flowers will do poorly due to lack of oxygen to their roots. Soils that are very sandy may have poor water-holding capacity and be low in available mineral elements. If either extreme is true, do not plant perennial flowers the first year or two. Improve the soil with sphagnum peat, available in bales or bags at garden centers. Incorporate a 'James R. Feucht, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension specialist, landscape plants; prepared in cooperation with the Technical Advisory Committee for Xeriscape Front Range, an affiliate of the National Xeriscape Council, Inc. (revised 6/88)

Soil Conditions
Before selecting garden flowers, check the condition of the soil. If it is a heavy clay, most

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kenneth R. Bolen, director of Cooperative Extension, Colorado State University, Port Collins, Colorado. Cooperative Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. T o simplify technical terminology, trade names of products and equipment occasionally will be used. N o endorsement of products named is intended nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.

cubic foot of sphagnum per 8' x 10' area to a depth of 9 inches. Plant o n l y annuals so it w i l l be easier to cultivate and incorporate organic matter when the plants are killed by frost. Repeat additions of sphagnum until the soil is easily worked and does not compact. Perennial garden f l o w e r s m a y then be planted.

especially if organic mulches such as wood chips are added to reduce watering frequency.

Rock Gardens
Rock gardens can be an attractive addition to a xeriscape garden. They should be installed in logical areas such as steep sunny slopes rather than mounds in the middle of a yard. Use care in installing the rock to achieve a natural look. Avoid the "rock pile look" or "garden of rock." For more information on rock gardens and the plants to use, refer to Service in Action sheet
7.401, Rock gardens.

Pay Attention to Garden Exposure

Select plants that are compatible with the exposure. If planting on north sides of structures or in with shrubs that might shade them, pick plants that will tolerate less sun than those thriving best in full sun. For example, garden perennials to be put in a shaded spot might include canterbury bells (Campanula), primrose (Primula) and violets (Viola). Such plants usually need cool, more consistently moist soils than the vast majority of garden flowers. They can, nevertheless, be useful in the shaded parts of a xeriscape,

A Selection of Garden Flowers

Following is a selection of garden flowers, including some bulbs, that can be successfully integrated in a xeriscape planting. They are listed by exposure to sun.

Perennial Plants for Shady Spots Plant name

Anchusa (Italian Bugloss) Anchusa azurea Bleeding heart Dicentra spectabilis Candytuft Iheris sempervirens Canterbury bells Campanula medium Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis Columbine Aquilegia spp. Dragon head (false) Physostegia virginiana Gas plant Dictamnus spp. Golden banner Thermopsis divaricata Campanula spp. Monkshood Aconitum napellus Pansy (tufted) Viola vornuta Primrose Primula spp. Violet Viola odorata

Flower color
Deep blue Deep pink White Pink, purple, white Bright red White, blue, pink, yellow Lavender, white White, pink Yellow Blue, white Purple Various Yellow, red, blue White, purple

Flowering

time

Height (feet)
3-5

Remarks Tall accent. Use with shrubs, north sides.

June-July April-June April-June June-July July-Sept.

Foliage evergreen. Tall accent. Use in dense shade. Use with shrubs.

3 2
1-2

May-June
Aug.-Sept.

3-3 1/2 Aggressive creeper.

2-3 1-2 Use with shrubs. Aggressive creeper. Useful edging. Use in dense shade. Shade or sun. Showy spring flowers. 12 / Aggressive creeper.

June-July
May June-Oct. June-Sept. May-Sept. April-May April-May

Harebell

1
3-4 %

Perennials for Sunny Spots *denotes most drought-enduring

Alyssum (golden) Alyssum saxitile Aster (New England) Aster novae-angliae Baby's breath Gypsophila paniculata Yellow Purple, white White April Sept. July-Sept. June-July July June-Sept.

1
3-5 2 1/2 2-3 2-3 2

Reseed readily. Showy for fall. Lacy, bush-like. Best in mass plantings. Needs space. One of the best for xeriscapes.

Crimson Beebalm Monarda didyma Yellow *Black-eyed susan Rudbeckia hirta pulcherrima *Blanket flower Red-orange Gaillardia aristata

Plant name *Butterfly weed Asclepias tubcrosa *Butter & eggs Linaria vulgaris *Cactus

Flower color Orange Yellow Various

Flowering time July-Aug. June-Aug. May-Aug. Aug.-Sept. June-Aug. May-Sept. May-July July-Aug. June-July June-July May-Sept. July-Sept. July-Sept. June-Sept. May-June July-Aug. June-Aug. May-Sept. June-Sept. June-July May-June May-July April-June May-June May-Aug. May-Sept. April-May May-June May May-Aug. May-June July-Sept. cyparissias

Height (feet) 1-1 1/2 1-1 1/2 Various 4-6 3 2 2-3

Remarks Grows in poor soils; very deep-rooted. Grows in poor soils. Use in sandy soils. For tall background. Easy to grow in most soils. Border plant, cut flower Showy, cut flower.

Yellow, purple *Coneflower Echinacea purpurea Yellow *Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata Blue, white *Cornflower Centaurea Cyanus White, pink Daisy (painted) Chrysanthemum coccineum White Daisy (shasta) Day lily Hemerocallis spp. Delphinium Delphinium elatum *Flax Linum perenne *Gayfeather Liatris scariosa *Golden glow Rudbeckia laciniata hortensiana *Hollyhock Alcea rosea *Iris (bearded) Iris germanica *Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Lupine Lupinus polyphyllus Pansy (tufted) Viola cornuta *Paperflower Zinnia grandiflora *Penstemon Penstemon spp. Peony Paeonia ifficinalis Phlox Phlox paniculata *Poppy (iceland) Papaver nudicaule *Poppy (oriental) P. orientalis *Scabiosa Scabiosa caucasia *Sedum (stonecrop) Sedum spp. **Spurge (euphorbia) Euphorbia spp. *Sulphur flower Eriogonum umbellatum Sweet william Dianthus barbatus *Thrift Armeria maritima Veronica Veronica spicata *Yarrow Achillea spp. Yellow, red, orange White, purple, blue Blue Lavender Yellow Various Various Lavender Various Various Yellow Red, white, blue White, pink, red White, lavender Orange hues Orange, salmon, red Lavender Various Yellow Yellow White, pink, red Pink Purple Yellow, white, pink

(various plant groups)

2-2 1/2 Useful with shrubs. 2-2 1/2 Spreads to large clumps. 4-6 1 1/2 1-2 5-6 4-8 Tall accent; may need staking. Almost shrub-like. Showy in late summer. Tall, late summer flower.

Tall accent; grows almost anywhere. 1/2-3 Of easy culture. Fragrant; shrub-like.

2 1/2-3 Good accent with shrubs. 1/2 1/2 2-3 2-2 1/2 Shade or sun. Long-lasting bloom. Many varieties. Tolerates some shade.

1-1 1/2 Easy to grow. 1 1 1/2-2 Good edging plant. Aggressive creeper.

1-1 1/2 Fern-like foliage. 1/2-1 1-2 1/2 2 1 2-4 1-3 Many varieties; succulent foliage. Grows in poor soils. Grows in poor soils. Aggressive biennial. Grass-like foliage. Aggressive creeper. Adapts to very poor soils; fern-like, aromatic foliage.

**Caution. Avoid use of cypress spurge, Euphorbia hybridize with leafy spurge, a noxious weed.

because of its tendency to escape into rangeland and

Annuals
With some soil preparation and no more than one hand-watering a week, almost all annuals commonly sold w i l l do well in xeriscape gardens. For the hot. dry exposures, the most reliable include: marigolds, zinnias, cockscomb, sweet alyssum and bachelor's button. Where soils are shaded and cooler, use annuals such as lobelia, pansy and forget-me-not.

Bulbs
Most bulbs do best in full sun, but they must

have well-drained soils. Spring-flowering bulbs are well-suited for xeriscape plantings because they are drought-evaders; that is, they grow in the cooler, more moist periods of spring and fall and lie dormant underground during the hoi summer months. Use tulips, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, daffodils and crocus for naturalizing a xeriscape. In fall, scatter bulbs in the areas you want them and plant where they land. For more information on bulbs, refer to Service in Action sheets 7.410 and Flowers from fall-planted bulbs and corms, and 7.411, Flowers from spring-planted bulbs, corms and roots.