Desert Flowers

[desertgirl]

Any other desert dwellers out there who can share some successes they have had with bright,fragrant flowers?

My successes are...minimal.:/

 

[digitS']

After the nice things you said about me, DG, maybe I can bump this up where our Amarillo and Tuscon gardeners might see it. Southern Cal?

I garden where there is less than 20 inches of precip each year - most of that falls as snow during the winter. But, there are lots of evergreens around me so . . .

Anyway, here are some ideas: iris, catmint, creeping phlox, lambs ear, gaillardia, rosemary, lavender, and Russian sage and don't forget your peppers are very ornamental. Salvia, zinnia, sunflowers . . .

Gomphrena (globe amaranth) is an annual that I have now-and-then. It seems fine with lots of sun. Coreopsis, bachelor's buttons, nigella . . . some that I grow in sunny, dry spots.

Steve

 

[desertgirl]

Sigh.....

I think I love you.

Going to hit the seed catalogues tonight!!!!

Thanks.

row

 

[desertcat]

High Country Gardens/Santa Fe Greenhouse! (Alright, so they don't grow, but they've got great ideas and really cool plants.) They were my absoulute heroes when I lived in SF. Matter of fact, I'm going to be in ABQ in March and am planning a special excursion to go spend money with them.

edited because the language police are looking over my shoulder!

 

[desertgirl]

Great idea!

 

[desertwillow]

I live in the high desert of CA and we get very little rain. I grow roses, bearded iris, cannas, Mexican primroses, Texas Rangers, Russian Sage, desert willows, zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, Mexican Bird of Paradise and impatients to name a few.

 

[desertgirl]

Sounds like your weather is a lot like mine. What are your temperature ranges (low in winter to high in summer)?

 

[desertwillow]

I'm in zone 8b and our winters can get night time lows in the teens and our summer highs in the 100-120 range. It's 8 am and it's 30 outside. I used to live in Albuquerque back in the 50's and it's about the same weather wise except we're only at 2500 feet here. We get a tremendous amount of wind though and it's nothing for us to get wind gusts above 75 mph.

 

[desertgirl]

ZOIKS! And I thought our winds were bad!!!

 

[desertwillow]

fortunately those high winds don't happen very often, maybe two or three times a season but we have 25-45mph most of the time with wind gusts above 50. As you know they can sure dry things up.