Dealing with Drought, July 11, 2015

It seems the PNW is also experiencing drought.  Considering how dry California has been, I guess it is no surprise.  I feel I must respond to the changes in weather patterns with increasing heat and drought by seeking plants and strategies to deal with these circumstances.  But dealing with our wet/dry seasons with summers with little or no rain, I have always favored mostly drought tolerant plants anyway.

Plants that are rarely watered in summer survive on our ramp- Rosemary, Oreganos, and Marjoram, now blooming-

Thyme, various Heathers, Lavender, and a LOT of Kinnickinnick, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts', which has been growing over many of the smaller plants, here with more Oregano-

It's hard to drag hoses to the ends of my 2 acres, so I decided to plant some Manzanitas (various Arctostaphylos) there, which are adapted to the west coast wet and dry seasons, so actually require NO summer watering, in fact they don't like it or do well with it.  Another interesting thing about Manzanitas is that they have an edible berry, like some of the other well-adapted natives- Berberis nervosa (used to be Mahonia), also known as Oregon Holly Grapes, and Salal.   I researched Manzanitas and found four for sale at Xera Plants that were a little hardier.   I live at a little higher altitude and sometimes weather patterns have resulted in loss of supposedly hardy plants, like the year it didn't frost until December 20 then plunged to 6ºF in 2 days.  My 10' Eucalyptus tree, supposedly hardy to 0ºF, died because it had not had a chance to harden off.

Arctostaphylos columbiana 'Parkdale East'-

Arctostaphylos columbiana 'Wolf Creek', note the berries which I managed to knock off when planting-

Arctostaphylos columbiana sonomensis

Arctostaphylos viscida 'Sweet Adinah'-

I love the leathery, often grey-green leaves and the reddish bark that is smooth and peels.  I'm excited to see how well they can fill in.  I'm counting on shrubs to cover ground and shade out the perpetual weeds.

Today I am linking with-

Orange You Glad It's Friday, hosted by Maria

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

And joining in with Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, to see what is blooming in lots of gardens join hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Daylilies are still blooming, here is one with the double Fulva-

And some roses are still blooming, like the ground cover Red Ribbons-

Critters for today are my grand-chicks, the two silkies, you can see one as a small chick here-

The hot colors of various Asteraceae have begun in the garden, Gaillardia I started from seed-

"Red" Sunflowers (looks orange to me)-

"Red" Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy', which doesn't look at all like the one I saw at a nursery, I hope it manages to get redder as it gets older-

Ursinia anethoides, 1" flowers,  which is supposed to be heat and drought tolerant-

Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is blooming, hot blooms like fireworks.  It is a reliable bloomer and I dug part up and spread it around the yard some.  It flops so I tried to bury the corms deeper to prevent that.

A welcome surprise is finally getting some Eryngium flowers, 'Blue Glitter' I bought at Hortlandia, I just love the metallic blue and prickly flowers-

Also blooming are still clematis, coreopsis, Sweet William, Ageratum, beans, squash, red runner beans for the hummingbirds, and Laura Bush petunias in my containers, first time I'm growing them from seed, they have mixed colors.  I learned about them from Alison at Bonney Lassie.

What flowers have you tried from seed in your containers?   Last year I had a lot of Nasturtiums, they have lots of hot colors.    Hannah                
                                                                or cameras are macro

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