The Okanagan Xeriscape Association
Welcome
You have just opened the door to a whole new way of looking at your landscape, whether that’s the yard around a house; the landscaping around your condo; the entrance to your business; or the welcome to a new home or subdivision you’ve built.
The Okanagan Xeriscape Association is a registered charity founded in 2009 to help people Garden with Nature, conserving water and energy in the process, but creating beauty.
Join us.
Support us.
Enjoy our website and extensive plant database of waterwise plants.
Come to a class or workshop.
Visit our Xeriscape Demonstration Gardens in Kelowna and West Kelowna.
Learn while volunteering. Ask questions of our experts.
By learning more about xeriscape, you are learning how to create colourful, attractive outdoor spaces while minimizing your use of water—a resource that’s in short supply in the arid Okanagan climate, as well as elsewhere.
That means you save money on water, but at the same time, when you employ xeriscape principles you also save money on pesticides because you’re growing plants that suit their natural environment so they are less vulnerable to insects and diseases.
Plant of the Month- September
Mentzelia laevicaulis
On a recent visit to Xen Nursery in West Kelowna, I stopped short during the tour, intrigued by a plant I spied in another row and inquired about it to the nursery manager Josh Smith.
He informed me that it was Mentzelia laevicaulis also known as Smoothstem or Giant blazingstar or Stickleaf. The common name Stickleaf refers to the plant’s ability to cling to fabric due to its barbed leaves.
This showy biennial or short-lived wildflower is native to western North America where it can be found in disturbed areas in either rocky or sandy soil.
Blooming from mid-summer into November, this is a long-blooming native best situated in full sun where its cheery yellow blooms are sure to delight. The blooms are star-shaped with long stamens in the center and can reach up to 5 feet in height. The flowers of Mentzelia laevicaulis are attractive to a large number of native bees.
UPCOMING EVENTS
OXA Annual General Meeting
Saturday, September 21, 2024 @ 1 pm
UnH2O Xeriscape Demonstration Garden,
4075 Gordon Drive, Kelowna, B.C.
Special guest speaker at the AGM, which is a celebration of OXA’s 15th anniversary, will be co-founder of OXA, Gwen Steele, who will give us a bit of a history of OXA and its beginnings. All are welcome to attend the AGM- only members can vote. Find the minutes here.
Annual Fall Plant sale
Because fall is the best time of year to plant perennials—allowing them to establish root systems in their new environments before the heat and drought of spring and summer—OXA is holding its third annual fall plant sale.
Saturday, September 21 from 10 am to 12 pm
UnH2O Demonstration Garden
4075 Gordon Drive, Kelowna
In front of the H2O Aquatic Centre
This is a great opportunity to purchase new drought-tolerant plants and shrubs and a perfect chance to ask questions of knowledgeable xeriscapers, Master Gardeners, specialists in native plants, and fellow gardeners. You will also be able to purchase native plants from XEN Nursery and xeriscape and native plants from Wild Bloom Nursery.
Dig with Sig
This popular weekly drop-in allows you to spend time working in the UH2O Garden with Sigrie Kendrick, OXA’s executive director and master gardener! This is a great opportunity to learn more about drought-tolerant plants and xeriscape landscaping.
You do not need to be an OXA member to join us in the garden– simply come along with gloves and a trowel.
FRIDAYS from 9 – 11 am
UnH2O Demonstration Garden – 4075 Gordon Drive in front of the H2O Adventure Centre
* Note– Dig With Sig will be held on Saturday, Sept 7 instead of Friday, Sept 6
WIN A DIG WITH SIG IN YOUR GARDEN!
Sig and our knowledgeable garden volunteers will spend a couple of hours doing maintenance in your garden and bring along a few perennial plants to add to your beds.
To enter– email your name and contact info to admin@okanaganxeriscape.org, stating the reasons you feel you should be selected to host Dig with Sig in 150 words or less. Include photos of your garden (these may be used on OXA’s Social Media posts without disclosing the location). Only OXA members from Kelowna and West Kelowna are eligible to win.
The garden visit will take place on Friday, October 4th from 9-11 am.
The contest closes September 17 at midnight and the winner will be announced September 21, at the OXA Fall Plant Sale.
Do you follow us?
If not, you really should check us out! Our social media pages are super informative and fabulous to follow especially for current events and seasonal information on everything xeriscape. Sharon Spring, OXA Vice President and Director of Social Media, does incredible and passionate work in creating content to promote OXA and xeriscape.
Follow us and take a good poke around through previous posts for gorgeous photos and great content.
Our Blog
Our new blog, On The Dry Side, is an opportunity to share information on how to garden with nature while conserving water in the Okanagan Valley.
As a group blog and forum, we welcome your contributions and comments and hope to create a blossoming community of xeriscape gardeners as well as a valuable archive of articles.
Learn
About Xeriscape
What is xeriscape and why it is perfect for the Okanagan environment? Learn how you can start conserving water in your own landscape.
7 Principles of Xeriscape
Xeriscape Classes
Get Inspired
The UnH2O Garden
A complete guide to each of our UnH2O Demonstration Garden themed beds– a 4,000 square foot garden, planted in 2010, which includes six theme areas to illustrate xeriscape possibilities. (See the Get Inspired tab in our main menu)
Xeriscape Stories
Our Xeriscape Garden Stories include photographs and stories showing xeriscape in action right here in several gardens in the Okanagan including winners from our 2011 and 2013 Xeriscape Garden Contests.
Resources
Informative resources, including an extensive list of the best books on xeriscape for our climate, links to websites, and a directory of xeriscape gardens to visit in the Okanagan, including our UnH2O and Spirit Square Garden.
We would like to thank the Okanagan Basin Water Board and Okanagan WaterWise for their support and funding
Did you know?
- There is LESS water available per person in the Okanagan than anywhere else in Canada
- The Okanagan has one of the highest rates of water use per person in Canada
- The 2nd largest use of water in the Okanagan is for watering our household lawns & gardens
Here’s a reminder to check out the Make Water Work website to make your pledge to reduce water waste.
You will also find valuable information such as these useful PDF publications–
Make Water Works Tip Sheet and Make Water Works Plant Collection
Xeriscape is a very effective way to make water work.
