Attended two Living Desert Master Gardener classes today:
The Desert Gardener w/ Kirk Anderson, TLD Garden Manager
G202 Ecology in Desert Gardens w/ Glenn Huntington, TLD Palo Verde Garden Center Manager
Both classes emphasized responsibilities of desert gardeners as caretakers of the environment.
Take aways:
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| Use of various sized decomposed granite in Agave Garden |
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| Mixed agaves |
- Find microclimates and niches within your garden
- North wall challenge- cold and shaded in winter, hot and open in summer
- no right or wrong approach- it is an art with only you to please
- desert adapted gardening- no fertilizing and no amending of soil
- know the plant dimensions- right place
- avoid invasives- certain fountain grasses (red ok), penstemon secicum (?) tamarisk
- limit turf
- best way to spread wildflowers is by planting naturalizing plants
- decomposed granite preferred ground cover- various sizes
- trees never within 5 feet of hardscape
- phoenix hybrid mesquite,
- acacia aneuri doesn't like much watering, nice gray color
- foothills palo verde (palo brea ?) great structure
- tiling below topsoil in imperial valley to keep salt out of the soil
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| desert marigold, verbena tunuaseca?, penstemon parryi- great combo |
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| acacia- palo blanco-peeling white bark 20-25' |
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| Foothills palo verde, palo brae ? |
