Xeriscaping: Gardening with native plants, gardening for wildlife, gardening for restoration

The xeriscape planting process is easy. This next part of the discussion is bundled into a huge knot. I don’t know if I will be able to explain it well and loosen some of the tied up tension. Perhaps better to stay clear to avoid metaphorically pinching a nerve or falling into a ditch or getting hit on the head. But like my friend Joey tells me, when in doubt, paddle out. So here we go.

So theres a shift. Rather than imposing our garden style on nature, we are going to listen to her, and go with the flow. If theres a lot of water, use it. If theres not so much, conserve it. Common sense. But what if the king, who controls all the water, says “I don’t care, all the water for me, y’all get the left overs”. “Y’all” meaning poor people, salmon people, wildflower people, and rainbow people. Then you say, “Hey that is talking about morals and politics and class, like stratified class, not a college xeriscape class, we didn’t come to discuss stuff like this. That is for sociology or political science or religious studies or law school” Okay, skip it then. Stick to the curriculum.

Back to the shift. For many years nobody cared about growing California native plants. They were not used in landscaping. If there was mountains and valleys full of the stuff, why would you plant it in the garden? It is like – do you go to a zoo to see a raccoon and a pigeon, or to see a tiger and an elephant? Are the natives even showy? No! What you wanted was an exotic orchid or a huge gorgeous rose or the latest hybrid everyone is gushing over, not some hard scrabble drought tolerant ugly thing weird looking thing that come out of the universe’s twisted imagination. Beauty was defined by the old folks from the east, from across the seas, not embodied or dreamt up or personified in the landscape around you.

Then the natives caught on like a fuse of gunpowder about fifteen twenty years ago. In every public space that the landscape architect planned – natives. In every new installation or design magazine – natives. It became the new hip thing. It didn’t matter if the plant did not fit in the site, it was ‘native’! Like so happens in the this-or-that sphere of public affairs, native became synonymous with good. So if you were a righteous kind loving person, you better go ‘native’.

Some of you probably don’t even know what a native plant is. Well that is a made up term for plants that have been here in California since around year 1540, or longer. Plants that have been around for the past ten thousand years or so plus or minus. Plants that were present before the Spaniards and Russians and French and English and Irish and German settlers came and displaced the Miwok and the Chumash and the Achowami and the Pomo and the Modoc and then opened the gates to the Lao and the Japanese and Yugoslavs and Hindus and Nicoyas and anybody else from around the world. The Mexicans, well they have been here all along; perhaps they were called Kumeyaay or Kiliwa way long ago… Thus, there are these native plants that have persisted, and there are introduced plants. Introduced plants that came as seed on ships and in shirt pockets, in the guts of sheep and stowed away in bales of hay. They were brought here by immigrant settlers travelers for animal food, for human crops, for gardens, and so on. If you don’t go hiking around to natural places, if you are mostly a town dweller, then most of the plants you have met are probably non-natives. So theres natives and non natives – if you want to divide them and make it clean cut, easy to label. Its actually a really mixed up matrix already, and bound to mix more, not less. In the continuum of time, they are all just plants.

To stay on track – you can plan and design a xeriscape garden, but once it is in the ground, you do not get to control it, nor do you really want to. If you took your measurements correctly, the tailored suit should fit just fine. Same with the landscape, if you were careful with observations and made the right selections, the plants ought to ‘perform’ as indicated. And over time, nature she will play with the patterns and make it her own. Then you will do adaptive maintenance. Its like a fun dance, not a war of wills. Plants may come in by themselves, plant that you elect to keep. Other plants that come in, you may decide to weed out because they tend to take over. A low maintenance xeriscape garden does not mean no maintenance. Take a heading, set a course, but be prepared for currents and swells. Again, same lesson. You want to listen to the land and plant accordingly. If you have an artificial culturally bound goal, (for example, I only want 100% native plants), you will be frustrated when it is not pure and then you will fall into the pit fall trap of fixed ideology (angry with fists clenched, ‘it has to look like this!”). The trap of viewing the garden through the dichotomous mind rather than perceiving it as it is (the sort of thinking that ruins the whole scene). Now you are like – “Hey this is not a philosophy class or some hippie dippie meditation martial arts class! Get on with it!”. Sorry, pass. Pass. Pass.

Many of the native populations have suffered. Again, we are talking about plants, not people. Plants. Some of them evolved in the clay riverine drainage flats of the central valley. As the soils were plowed and converted to large tracts of farm land, the plants either disappeared or shrunk and shrunk their range. In some hilly grasslands, cattle were let loose. If the cows were to munch a munch and move on, the plants could recover. But if the cows were fenced and walked back and forth, back and forth, then the carpets of annual flowers eventually caputted and faded away. Here in San Francisco, as the western dunes were developed to make way for people, the flora of the sands got bulldozed into oblivion. And with the flora went the insects that depended on them for food. Hence, the first couple of butterflies to go extinct in North America happened right here – a couple of dinky little blue butterflies by the names of Xerces and Pheres. Right here along Ocean Beach and the Sunset Richmond and Marina green neighborhoods.

Then what do we do? Cant go backwards, only forwards. For people distraught about all that has been lost and destroyed, the goal is restoration. Restoring native habitats. This is happening in the grassland prairies of the midwest, the wet soggy woods of the northwest, and the wetlands of the bay area. Restoring some of that diversity that once existed, re energizing some of that connection ancient peoples had with their land. This is a neat challenge that utilizes many of the same principles as xeriscaping – planting with the rains; fitting plants to the specific site according to water, light, soil; planting for desirable wildlife. Most important though, as far as restoration is concerned, this is about restoring the love that native peoples have for the earth. And by native I do not mean measurements of blood lineage or your ability to make a sinew bow string or your agility to ride a horse, I am talking about being part of a place and a community, of being grounded.

You know, native, in the best sense of the word. Not native like in native versus cosmopolitan, like you never left the street you were born on. Not native like in native versus educated and cultured. Like you are ignorant and without manners and don’t know anything about hygiene. Native meaning proud, protective, working with, and on behalf of, all the creatures big and small, young and old, healthy and infirmed.

I dont know about how and when you grew up, but it seems to me that much of this generation of children may be the first to grow up with absolutely no clue as to their relatives and kin in the natural world. The wild kin. Not the kind you have to pay to see, not the pestiferous ones always following us around, not the pets in the house. Wild kin that are independent, going about doing their own thing: goofing around, talking to their friends, raising their families. By no clue I mean that kids don’t know them alive, in person, hands on. These days, all those kin are either sitting dead in a glass case, jailed in an outdoor museum, verbally dissected on a screen, or so far away as to become mythic creatures. Yes there a few kids that gut fish, or shoot 22’s, or harvest tomatoes with their mom, or go picking apples in trees, or paddle a canoe, or make a fort in pine woods. It would be nice to see more. More kids actively engaged with the natural world.

If you are a kid who grows up without ever having damselflies land on your fingers, or butterflies flitting around your head, or hummingbirds zapping back and forth in your vision, what does that do to your imagination? Or your psyche? What kind of a sterile lonely place would a mind retreat to, when it is devoid of fellow sentiment majestic forms? If you had to count the monetary cost of such a transaction, would your calculator be able to hold all the zeros? Well, easy to get overwhelmed by the world’s drama, best to open the door out back. To the ranch and the farm and garden and the plants – to work. With a shovel a pick and a handful of seeds, and wait for the rains to come.

Alright, where’s the action? Well in the past years gardeners and academic entomologists have been working together towards the conservation of insects. You can help by planting native plants, planting forage and nectar plants, and planting caterpillar host plants. You can make trendy solitary bee homes or leave patches of open sands for them too. A UCB professor who specializes in bees, Gordon Frankie, has been hard at work alongside nurseries like Annies Annuals and curators like Dr Don Mahoney of the San Francisco Botanical Garden. These folks have been advocating for these beneficial creatures that help pollination and pest control. Dr Don gave us a tour of his garden, and discussed how he maintains his fantastic collection of plants. It is not xeriscaping per se, but it is close to gardening in a way that the natives would appreciate. Please watch his two part video here for specific tips and advice about habitat gardening:

As a gardener, you do have to come to terms with life and death. It is a part of all the interactions in the field. If you want to grow and protect the plants, you will have to help them against their foes. Doing nothing or letting nature takes its course just means that you are neglecting your duties. For example, with regards to gophers, you could use cultural measures to stop them, like the use of gopher baskets. But, time to time, you may have to trap them and kill them. Same thing with the weeds. Take care of them, you’re the gardener.

You are an active manager of the wildlife in the garden; one who is tasked with the balance and health of all the species. I will tell you right now that it is not an easy job, and real messy too, but necessary. There is a discomfort that comes with death. In the amazonian universe the hunters go into the rivers or under the earth in dream state to negotiate with the master of animals. Its a back and forth as a caretaker of the jungle and a taker of life. You realize that it is a reciprocal relationship to maintain the fecundity and abundance of all creatures. It must be approached with respect and gratitude, otherwise it will all go to poop. Whoops I think I strayed off topic again to mythology and anthropology or rainforest conservation or some other unrelated topic. Xeriscaping – it is about water, plants, the land, and life. Water is the ultimate connector and universal solvent and most and least common denominator. That is how it is all tied together.

This third set of plants are plants found in the sandy dunes, the clay uplands, and plants useful for raising butterfly larvae. Most are natives, not just California natives, but San Francisco natives. A few are from other places. Some of these we saw on our walkabout to the Ocean Beach dunes off of Judah Street, the rest we will hopefully encounter another day.

This is nutka reed grass in our cloud garden:

In the dunes, plants holding and stabilizing the blowing sands:

This second set of plants are from areas south of here. These include Southern California, Australia, and South Africa. So the criteria for selection is more climatic and geographical, unlike the first set of plants – whose selection was based on its succulent morphology and physiology.

This set plants come from a climate that is, for the most part, hotter than ours. So the plants can take the heat, and the dryness. These plants have been chosen because they are sometimes seen in the San Francisco Bay Area; also because they are not plants you learn in our CCSF Plant Identification classes OH 76 & 77. They are plants that are amazing to behold in the garden setting. Definitely ‘worthy’.

Keep in mind that these are a minuscule representation of the flora of these places. They are just a piece of bait, or an easy freebie, to entice you to explore the diverse flora of the world, and begin to cultivate some of that freedom.

Lets head out to the Channel Islands, San Luis Obispo chaparral, alkali lakes of the desert, and coastal scrub of San Diego.

Now cross the Pacific Ocean and check out some botanical kin down under.

Finally take a sail past the Indian Ocean, cruise along Madagascar, and on down to the Cape of Good Hope.

How will we learn these plants? Scavenger hunts, walkabouts, propagation, and planting them in the garden. Stay tuned, more directions to come. This is only the list…

Wild rosemary and Felicia, all African in origin:

California fuchsia in the cloud garden, small tree in backdrop is wax myrtle Myrica californica:

South of Judah on La Playa, right past the bocce ball courts of decomposed granite:

Xeriscape process: How to plant the garden

Theres the long range and the short range.

If you are a farmer who plans to work the land for forty or fifty years, and maybe pass the land on to the next generation, you would try to take real good care of it. You want the earth to stay healthy and abundant, and to make it better, not worse.

If you are a landscapers working at a shopping mall or some kind of a commercial type property, then you know that the plants are just decoration and temporary. The next owner who flips the house will switch out the garden in five or ten years, the new manager will say ‘Cut it all down’ and put in a garden based on the latest trends. The plantings are disposable and short lived, and so you work accordingly.

In a short term planting plan, you bring in new top soil or potting soil, and just lay it on top. You do not have to mix it or till it in with the native soil, since the plant roots are going to be shallow – the upper 12” or 16” or so. You hook up an irrigation system to make sure that the plants are watered with good coverage. You do not anticipate that the plants will ever reach down deep or wide to find their own source. You lay down a layer of weed cloth, then cut some holes in it for the plants. You throw the plants into holes in the ground, not bothering much to open the root ball, or tease and cut out the girdling roots. Time is of the essence; you know that the plants are not going to live that long anyways. To finish the planting you spread a layer of small bark mulch on top. Thats it, you are done.

For the most part, the xeriscape garden is more the long range plan rather than the short range one. It requires you to pay attention to the soil and the water. You want your plants to be well settled into their places and take care of themselves, not always be dependent on external supports and high maintenance regimes. You imagine and hope that the plantings will still be prospering forty years down the line, although you may not be present anymore to witness them.

So the first thing is to plant according to climate. Microclimate to be specific. Meaning that you find the minor tiny variations in a given place, and match your plants accordingly. Observe your garden and surroundings with tremendous intensity. Even in a hot hot place, there may be a shaded spot near the eave of the house that is ten degrees cooler than everywhere else. Write this down. Next to the driveway, there is a spot that is perpetually wet. You are not sure if it is the roof runoff, shallow groundwater, or what?, but it hardly ever dries out. Water always gathers there. Write this down. And you look at the neighbor next door – they have a fifty year old lemon tree that is always blooming, always full of fruit. You see them using it for cocktails, kids squeezing lemonade all the time. You strike up a conversation with the neighbor – how often do you water the lemon? Do you fertilize it? And the neighbor says “I don’t do anything! It just loves the exposure and the soil, I guess…”. Plant something that likes that little niche you have discovered, not a plant that will be distressed and uncomfortable. Make the plant feel ‘at home’.

The second thing is to work the soil. Some of the ornamental xeriscape plants we are planting do not need much amendment, actually. They might have come from a place where poverty was the norm, and they are not really enamored of rich rich soils. They be like ‘Whats the big deal? I’m fine with rice and beans, and a bit of chile pepper. I dont want to eat beef and pork and shark and tiger and bear every meal. That is for the kings and queens. Rice and beans for me!” Other plants we are planting do like a bit of help to look good in the garden. So that is what we will do. First is to amend the soil and mix it in. That is in every garden help column and every horticulture magazine – add organic matter. Add it to sandy soils, add it to clay soils. Make goopy globs of nutrient humus and worm heaven and increase the soil’s water and nutrient holding capacity. Make uneven pores and holes to improve the drainage and aeration. What kind of organic matter? Manures and composts always excellent, as are the fallen leaves and worm poop called castings. The other thing to do with soil is to shape it. This is making terraces or little berms and mini volcanoes, pressing them into shape and form, so that water will better infiltrate the ground. Actively direct the flow of water, whether that be from irrigation or from rainfall. This little rhododendron is gonna like all the water it can get…

As the weather starts to dry, the soil forms this glaze of a skin over itself. As if it were a creature itself that was conserving moisture and tucking it all in. You can see this happen outdoors, and also to the surface of potting soils in a container. The whole thing tightens and contracts. Then if you were to water this skin, the water just skims and runs right off of it. A slow and steady drip drip drip of rainfall would soften the skin and penetrate, but if it is just a gush and a jolt of water, the plants do not benefit. You have to make pores in the earth and allow the water to soak in.

Thus, you create water holding patterns of soil on the earth. It is that simple; but not often done in planting projects. The process is a bit of extra labor and time and getting dirty, especially if you are working in clay and the stuff sticks all in between the grooves of your boots and smears all over your pants. This way of doing things is nothing novel and if anything it is ancient technology, coming from people who did not have access to irrigation as practiced today. A prime example comes to us from corn farmers of Arizona called the Tohono O’odham who made waffle like soil matrices in the sandy washes where they knew water would gather come late spring and summer monsoons. That way they could harvest a crop of corn in the driest and hottest of climates. In all parts of the world where drip irrigation is not practiced yet, this is how they conserve water and make their plants grow. Furrows. Berms.

Climate, soil. Then it is timing. Ideally you plant around when the rains come. Then you do not have to irrigate and the sky will do it for you. These parts, that is around November December. Usually best to plant after the first rain or two, then the soil is good and wetted and the plants have till March April to grow – spreading roots and hunkering down for the long hot dry period of summer. Remember that around here plants keep growing all winter long. If you look at the hills that go from brown to green that is what is happening. If it was colder then the plants would go dormant, but on the mild coast, plants keep marching on. The sun is a little lower in the sky, there is a bit of a chill, but the plants keep marching on. This is another one of those old timey approaches to gardening and farming – following nature’s rhythm and the seasons. Plant when the timing is right. Not whenever you want it.

Lastly it is the plants. When you plant in a xeriscape style, you want to encourage the plant to establish itself in the local soil and ‘get rooted’. That is what wild plants in nature do. That is how you can survive adverse situations and circumstances. You may want to loosen or remove some of that nursery potting soil that the plant came with. That potting soil is mostly all bark. If there is a hot day and the bark dries out quick, the plant is dead. You dont have to take all the barky peaty soil off, just make sure its mixed up in there with some grains of loam and clay or moist sands. Get the plant roots into the native soil so that as the land dries and that skin contracts and tightens, the plant is a part of that matrix and not something foreign and apart. An alien thing that gets squeezed out and discarded by mother nature.

Other than this basic planting method, it is the selection of plants that makes a xeriscape garden. And how you assemble and combine them together to make a community. Some are low spreading things that cover the earth, others are upright creatures with roots fifty feet deep. They are not separate organisms, they work together to benefit the entire system.

Theres a ton of different kinds of plants to choose from. Many of them are drought tolerant, but more important than being drought tolerant is that you match the site to the needs of the plant. Good fit. Right plant right place like the ol gardeners repeat infinitum. Boy am I a broken record or a MP3 stuck on loop action. Okey dokey until the next group of plants.

The first set of plants we are going to learn in xeriscaping are the succulent and cacti around town. Heres a few handfuls of basic forms to learn. After that you can specialize in the details and be more fussy about nomenclature. If you get these down, then you graduate and can move on to the next group of plants. Here is about 24 plants plus or minus.

Page one and page two are all succulents that are not poky. Well some Aloes have a bit of an edge to them but they are like spines covered with a dob of silicone or lambskin gloves. Cant really hurt ya. Most belong to this family called Crassulaceae which all the biology majors learn about because of their special metabolism. Its like this – most plants work during the day when the sun is out and rest at night. With the crassulaceous ones, with where they live, its too hot to work during the day. So they do some of the work at night, simple like that. Like those mediterraneans who take a little siesta when the sun is beaming, then back to work and dinner at like 10 pm and the merriment lasting long beyond that.

A few members on page one and two are of the Aizoaceae family which when blooming look like the brightest glowing colors the universe can conjure up. Theres also a couple of cactis on these pages but not the typical ones you think of. They are flat pads of non-poky cactus that grow hanging off the foggy wet barky crotches of high mountain trees. Not living in the desert sands or hard scrabble hills. Hey, theres all kinds…

Page three is the poky poke succulent and cacti around here. The poky pokes range from tiny irritating hairs to large thin spines to fine sharp curved fish hooks to a seven gauge sewing needle with a point on it that spells ‘caution’.

The assignment? Study the pictures. Then when we go out for a walkabout you can look for these new friends and try to make an impression. Maybe pick one up to take home, chat about this and that. Cultivate, grow, reproduce, and share with your mates.

These are stressed out Aeoniums, Cotyledon orbiculata, Aloe arborescens, and Agave attenuata in the flower bed out in front of the college by St Francis of the Guns statue by Benny Bufano.

At La Playa Park by Java Beach on Judah and the Muni turnaround, a few of our new friends:

Special thank you to our tour guide and manager of La Playa Park, Anthony Locher!