Beautiful Water-Wise Gardens
Contributed by Jolene Ottosen for the Chaparral Green Thumbs
For some gardeners, regular maintenance is part of the joy of gardening and the time and expense of maintaining a regular watering schedule is not an issue. They are the kinds of people who can keep plants that require constant moisture happy and lush, and I applaud them, but know that I will probably never be one. I enjoy having a garden, but I am fickle and one week will dote on it, while the next week, ignore it completely, so I need plants that will be okay with that. I also try my best to conserve water and prefer collecting water in rain barrels and watering by hand, so I only want to have to do that so often. When you add surviving our cold winters to the plant’s list of requirements, you soon discover that only certain plants will thrive in those conditions.
For many years now, the City of Calgary has partnered with the Horticultural Society to produce a series of “Yard Smart” guides that offer tips on planning water-wise and low maintenance yards. Over the years, I have collected a number of paper copies of various guides, and you might still be able to find these at in-person events where they have a table set up, but they are easily available online. Aside from a basic page looking at the basics of yard smart design with a focus on creating gardens that require less weeding, watering, and fertilizing, they also have more specialized guides for specific needs. If you have a full sun yard, you can refer to a specific guide for that, and then another for the shadier side of the house. Partial shade spaces have their own guide, as do wet areas and native plants. I was also very happy to see that they also offer many of their guides in a variety of languages.
Ten years ago, they published one of my favourite resources, a short list of hardy perennials that should thrive in Calgary’s climate once established (two seasons), requiring no irrigation beyond our annual rainfall.
The Following Perennials List is from the City of Calgary:
Blue Flax (Linum Perenne)
Slender, fern-like stalks rise from compact mounds bearing loads of sky-blue flowers. This is a prolific self-seeder in an unmulched bed, but unwanted plants are easily weeded out. It is versatile in all soils, if it is well drained. Requires full sun.
Daylily (Hemerocallis Spp.)
This species has grassy foliage with individual blooms that only last for a day. Many cultivators are available in a wide range of colour and blooming times throughout the season. Full sun to partial shade is best.
Gas Plant (Dictamnus Albus)
Clusters of pink or white flowers with a pungent lemony fragrance in June and glossy dark green leaves make this a great middle-of-the-bed plant for early summer blooming. A slow grower, it has deep taproots that make it drought tolerant when established. It prefers fertile loamy soil and full sun.
Globe Thistle (Echinops Ritro)
This is a large plant with deeply cut leaves that are silvery-white underneath and stalks with steel-blue, prickly globes that are a magnet for bees and butterflies in late summer. With a deep branching taproot system, the species does best in average, well-drained soils, as well as full sun to partial shade.
Iceland Poppy (Papaver Nudicaule)
This self-seeding poppy has slender stems and paper-thin flowers in orange, yellow, and cream, and blooms freely throughout the growing season. It thrives in all soil conditions and is remarkably drought resistant, but prefers full sun.
Stonecrop or Sedum (Sedum Spp.)
This species is a large group of succulent plants ranging from low groundcovers through tall upright cultivators. ‘Autumn Joy’ is a staple for the fall bed with stiff stems topped with rose coloured florets, but there are many new cultivars on the market to incorporate into your garden. It prefers well-drained, light soil and full sun to partial shade.
– Source: calgary.ca/yardsmart
In recent years, the City has revised and added to their list, featuring the top picks of horticulturalist Kath Smyth. In the online brochure, they provide photos and information about many of the plants, as well as the size it will reach in maturity. They also offer suggestions of which plants and shrubs would look best together, leaving you with not only a water-wise, but well-designed look. A digital copy of this brochure and many others can be found at calgary.ca/yardsmart.
If you are interested in more information about our community garden or are interested in joining us (there may be plots available) email us at [email protected].
