The Cook Garden
Year 4, June – grow-low sumac and tiger eyes sumac
Donna Cook and her husband converted their front yard to xeriscape over a 3 year period. It had been a very large lawn on fast-draining sandy soil, adjacent to the road and surrounded by a circular driveway.
A fence was built along the front property line to give a back drop to the garden. On the road side, a simple planting of “Tiger Eyes” Sumac against the fence and “Gro-Low”Sumac in front makes a stunning, seasonally changing, low maintenance display. Now that they are established, the plants seldom need water.
“Tiger Eyes” is non-suckering with purple-pink stems growing to about six feet tall. Feathery foliage is chartreuse in spring, bright yellow in summer and scarlet/orange in fall. “Grow-Low” Sumac is a very drought tolerant shrub up to two feet high. It spreads by root suckers forming a dense, weed suppressing mat to eight feet wide, making it excellent for erosion control. Tiny yellow flowers bloom early in spring. Red berries and male catkins persist through winter. Green leaves turn orange/red in fall.
Cook garden before the xeriscape project
Year 1 garden layout
On the other side of the fence, a huge garden with meandering paths is filled with a few small trees, and many varieties of drought tolerant shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and ground covers. Plants have been chosen for their low water requirements and placed to provide changing interest in all four seasons.
In winter, evergreens such as Globe Blue Spruce, Columnar Scotch Pine, Oregon Grape and various varieties of juniper, yew, pine and spruce will be prominent. Twisty Baby Locust “Lace Lady” will show off its wonderful twisted branches once its leaves have fallen. Feather Reed Grass will retain its vertical seed heads through winter and the blue fescues will remain blue. Ground cover early spring bloomers, candytuft and creeping phlox are evergreen as are the yuccas, lavender and creeping thymes. Seed heads of Sedum “Autumn Joy”, “Moonshine” Yarrow and Echinacea provide winter interest and bird food.
Shrubs bloom at various times and many, such as barberry, smoke bush, elderberry and ninebark varieties, have colourful foliage to provide additional interest during the growing season.
An arbour covered with Silver Lace Vine provides a shady seating area for enjoying the ever changing blooms and garden visitors. The diversity of plant material attracts many different pollinators and beneficial insects. Many plants have nectar, fruit and seeds that attract birds, some of whom nest in the fanciful bird houses in the garden.
This garden is a joy to be in and a testament to Donna’s passion for gardening and to her love of this garden.”
Photo credits– Donna Cook
XERISCAPE IN ACTION
We will be showcasing many other xeriscape garden projects around the Okanagan as our site develops. We welcome your stories, photos and inspiration. Please contact us at: info@okanaganxeriscape.org
Share your xeriscape adventures with other gardeners in our community!