How to Design a Dry Garden

A funny thing happens to gardeners that explore the possibilities of a
dry garden: They fall in love. And it's no wonder. Dry garden plants are
exciting, a tad unpredictable and incredibly diverse. Given their bold
color and textures, you can use them as key design elements. If you
live in the very dry West and Southwest, live with these plants a season
or two and it may happen to you: flat-out xerophytic infatuation.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Choose plants that are adapted to your region. Xerophytes in particular are well adapted to environments with limited water supplies. Native (indigienous) plants or introduced plants stand the best chance of surviving. But non-natives can succeed, too, especially if they're from a similar region.

2. Group similar plants. Among the many well-adapted plants there are still differences. Some need shade, others sun. Some will need less water, others a little more. Moreover, groupings imitate natural plantings, meaning your garden will look more natural.

3. Reconsider your lawn. As lovely as a healthy lawn is, it consumes water like gangbusters. If you are planting one, choose a grass or grass blend adapted to your climate, such as bermuda or buffalo grass. Reduce the size of the lawn by expanding planting beds that surround it. Or eliminate the lawn entirely and replace it with less thirsty plantings, a patio or a deck.

4. Plant ornamental grasses. They're related to the lawn types, but look and grow very differently. Available in various sizes, diminutive to towering, and many colors, all grasses have a naturalistic simplicity and blend beautifully. For instance, combine low growing buffalo grass with deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens).

5. Use African aloes (and their close relatives, the haworthias and gasterias) for showy and dramatic accents. Their red, coral, orange and yellow flower spikes light up the garden throughout the year, especially in late winter and spring.

6. Experiment with yuccas and agaves. Like the aloes, they're notable for their large rosettes of leaves and have tall stalks of white or cream flowers in spring and summer. Agaves, or century plants, offer a dramatic presence in a garden, but especially when their flower spikes emerge like giant asparagus stalks.

7. Plant cacti, the classic dry garden plants. They offer subtle color from spines on stems and pads, while their shorter-lived annuals, such as drought-tolerant California poppy (Eschscholtzia californica), come and go around them.

8. Provide dappled shade with trees such as palo verde (Cercidium) and mesquite (Prosopis). These nonsucculent, drought-tolerant trees and similar shrubs screen, enclose and create a backdrop for the multihued compositions of succulents.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the plants you choose can tolerate the minimum temperatures that are common in your area. Check reference books, ask at your local nursery and check with a botanic garden.
• Planting at the best time of year means using nature to get your plants established and growing. Where winters are mild, planting in fall is best. Where winters are colder and soils freeze, plant in early spring or late summer.