I LOVE to garden. Well, let me qualify that. I love my vegetable garden. As far as the ornamental stuff goes... well... let's just say that I prefer to pretend I don't have a front yard.
It's not that I don't appreciate a beautiful yard or flower garden when I see one, it's just that it's hard for me to get invested enough to spend the kind of time and energy necessary when there's really nothing in it for me. OK, OK... not NOTHING... it does make the neighbors happy, and keeps the city from sending me weed notices - this has never actually happened, but there have been times that I've worried that it might. Plus I suppose it does do something for the "value of the property".
But somehow all of that just pales in comparison to the big F... you know, food!
Anyhow, over the years I have developed a few strategies for dealing with my front yard. In truth, the whole idea of me offering advice on yard care is somewhat laughable, but when has that sort of thing ever stopped me before?
My basic principle, when it comes to taking care of the yard is that I want to do as little work as possible. I also refuse to use chemical pesticides, weed killers or fertilizers. I have an electric mower which I resort to when things get really bad, but in general I vastly prefer my hand push reel mower... it is just SO. MUCH. EASIER. I refuse to install a sprinkler system, and in general I HATE hauling the sprinkler around.
So, given all of the above, and the fact that Denver is not a place where enough water falls from the sky to cultivate anything that might be called a lawn without the assistance of regular watering, my strategy has been to slowly replace chunks of grass with areas of xeriscape or low water garden.
Even so, I've managed to kill off a fair number of low water plants because alas, they are only "low water," not "no water!" But... there are a few survivors, and this is where the Darwinian part comes in - if it lives, I plant more!
And I generally don't go out and buy more of the same plants, I just dig up a bit of the thriving plant and move it around.
So the current winners are...
Sweet Alyssum (or maybe it's Candytuft?)
See discussion in comments below... maybe some of you have better plant identification skills than I do!
This stuff blooms beautifully in the spring and is hardy enough to thrive in our hot dry summers. It is a low sprawling ground cover with woody branches... here are a few more photos:
Alyssum? Candytuft? Something else? Any thoughts are welcome!
Lavender
These poor little guys are getting totally swamped by the alyssum so I need to do some work there. I'll probably dig out some of the alyssum and spread it around a bit and also move a few chunks of lavender to other spots in the garden. This is a nice one because it has color throughout the hottest part of the summer.
Hens & chicks
The quintessential drought tolerant succulent. These guys fill in quite nicely and do well with almost no water.
Purple Iris
These actually need to be thinned - it amazes me that something is thriving enough to require thinning in my yard. Got them from a friend when she was thinning hers and they add such a beautiful splash of purple in the springtime.
Dianthus
I have these in both red and pink varieties. They're a perennial, but they also spread via seeds, so if you help them along a bit by spreading the seeds they fill in nicely.
Sedum Angelina
This isn't the best sedum I've found, meaning that it takes a while to establish and doesn't fill in readily, but it's pretty and adds some nice color. Plus I haven't killed it yet!
Marigolds
Marigolds are an annual, but they re-seed nicely each year, and if you harvest some seeds in the fall and spread them around in the spring they seem to do quite well.
Creeping Phlox
These guys have little spiney evergreen like branches with pretty flowers in the springtime. They've survived over 10 years, which is sort of a miracle, but they don't really spread as much as I would like. I think the name is a tad bit optimistic.
And last but most certainly not least...
Silver Stone Sedum!
All I have to say is this stuff totally rocks! A few sprigs of it arrived with the iris that I got from my friend and with a bit of help from me, it's now spread throughout the garden. It requires almost no water, and if you break off a sprig, you just stick it in the ground and it roots & takes off. Woo Hoo!!!!
Anyhow, that's about it for the quick tour of my Darwinian garden. Got any other suggestions for plants that need scant water and are hard to kill?