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Wayne Goreski’s garden, April 2010, before starting his xeriscape project -
Preparing the ground -
Preparing the ground phase 2 -
Spreading the new topsoil -
Locating plants and decorative stones for accurate spacing -
Installing drip irrigation after planting -
Covering all of the beds with mulch -
The xeriscape garden early summer 2010 -
Wayne’s vibrant, lush xeriscape garden one year later in July 2011 -
Wayne’s vibrant, lush xeriscape garden one year later in July 2011
An excerpt from “Garden Transformation” by Gwen Steele, Capital News September 9, 2011
In early spring 2010, Wayne Goreski attended my “Introduction to Xeriscape” class. He retired here from Ontario and wanted to find out what to grow in this climate. He had plans to take out the lawn in his small front yard and “xeriscape” it by laying down landscape fabric, covering it with rocks and adding a few plants.
A month after he attended the class he sent me a before, during, and after photo story of his project with these comments:
“Gwen: here are a few pictures of my spring xeriscape project. I am so pleased with how it turned out and have received many compliments. I followed your guidance: no stones – except for the walkway, no filter cloth, and used drip irrigation. I mixed some native and non-native plants for summer colour – and voila – all done! I have lots of bees and butterflies. It sure makes grass look boring.
I had a great time doing the whole project myself. The full cost was $1947 including soil, plants, mulch, flagstones, and drip irrigation.
I used your plant database on the OXA website to select the plants. Some of the plants I used are: Diabolo Ninebark, Coreopsis, Liatrus, Gaillardia, Yarrow, Echinacea, Russian Sage, Rudbeckia, Shasta Daisy, Hen & Chicks, Mosquito Grass (Blue Grama), Blue Oat Grass, Elijah Blue Fescue, and Feather Reed Grass.”
When Wayne was asked why he entered his garden in the 2011 Okanagan Xeriscape Association Xeriscape Garden Contest he wrote: “I love my garden and wish to share with others how you can have a more beautiful front yard with no grass and much less water usage. My grandkids love it!”
When I interviewed Wayne today he said he spends time most mornings in his garden- sitting with his coffee enjoying the plants and chatting with the neighbours who stop in their morning walks to enjoy the changing display of flowers.
With a two-inch layer of Ogogrow mulch, there are seldom weeds to pull. Occasionally a few dead flowers need cutting off. The garden provides endless delight, whereas the weed prone lawn required regular labour with no reward.
Photo credits: Wayne Goreski