Xeriscape Garden Haiku...

Careful choice of plants

Suited to a dry landscape

Saves our resources

I began to think about my new garden as an experiment for native, drought tolerant planting. I wanted a garden with colour, with texture, and an overall bold presence. Most importantly I wanted a garden that needed little maintenance and little watering! The backdrop will be native and ornamental grasses, and these will be surrounded by native perennials, or similar cultivars...

this triangular bed will be the new xeriscape garden. The skyrocket juniper will stay for now as will the japanese barberry and euonymus at the back...

after removing the last of the wayward perennials from this section, the new grasses and perennials were spaced out and planted! I was able to save and move some purple coneflowers to this location...

Xeriscape Garden Plants:

• 5 x Big Blue Stem (Andropogon gerardii)
• 1 x Red Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum 'Hanse Herms')
• 2 x Tall Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum 'Strictum')
• 3 x Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster')
• 9 x Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’)
• 8 x Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)

The ground was so dry at this point in July that I had to water the soil for over an hour to get it moist enough for planting. I also watered the large Silver Maple that overshadows the entire front lawn - I hope that amount of shade wont be a problem for this xeriscape garden!

Simplify...

I begin with my first project: turning the front yard into a more manageable space. The extensive gardens that came with the house had become quite unruly due to inattention over the last 4 years...


In order to simplify the chaos, drastic measures had to be employed!!!

this is the front garden in early June - a hodge-podge of perennials and shrubs that were once tended by a retired couple (wife's grandparents). Notice the several large invasive Buckthorn, and even a Black Cherry sapling that I had left to flourish due to ignorance and denial...

over the next month, we prepared for these drastic measures, and after giving as many perennials away to friends and family, the garden still looked full! By this time in July, everything was looking quite dry during the mini-drought we had here...

my wife and I decided that as much as possible along the front should be turned into grass in order to simply the landscape. A lot of shrubs and perennials still had to be moved or destroyed!

this area is to become my xeriscape garden, with native grasses and drought tolerant perennials...

Friends of Chilligo planting...

The third annual Friends of Chilligo tree planting was a success, albeit a smaller turn up than previous years, but we got the job done...  

thanks to the Friends of Chilligo, Grand River Conservation Authority, and the City of Cambridge - City Green

About the Conservation Area:

Owned and managed by the Grand River Conservation Authority, the Chilligo Conservation Area is often overlooked greenspace located within the city of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

The land sits adjacent to the Speed River and is comprised primarily of deciduousCarolinian forest, grassy meadows, and thick marshlands. Ellis Creek also flows through Chilligo, where along its banks you will find flourishing Cedar trees and abundant riparian life. For a sampling of Chilligo’s beauty and biodiversity, please visit our Gallery Page.

About the Friends of Chilligo:

The Friends of Chilligo is a not-for-profit group formed in 2007 in response to environmental damage that was being caused by a handful of individuals illegally using motorized vehicles within the conservation area. See the At Risk page for more information.

Mission Statement:

The Friends of Chilligo are dedicated to the protection of the Chilligo Conservation Area, by encouraging community stewardship and promoting ecologically responsible use of the land.