Tips From the Garden-Drought-Tolerant-Gardening

Tips from the Garden-

Drought-Tolerant-Gardening

For today's tips from the Garden, I thought I would give some good tips for the oncoming summer, which I have heard that it might be a hot and dry one due to the climate change and because of all the intense weather we all have heard all over the world+the US. Also, I haven't done one of my Tips-from-the-Garden in quite a while. So in this post I will conquer the challenges of blooming a beautiful garden in either a backyard or porch in the Southwest or other dry regions. And it might even be here in the Northwest too, because of the climate changes too. 

First-you must choose the right plants when it comes to maintaining a Drought Tolerant Garden. These would be the type that live in an environment, that's a very dry region or is having a drought due a very hot summer. I did come with a few different drought tolerant plants that you could use in your gardens that I will write down for you all...
So here are a few of the plants you might think about:
Cactus -  'The Santa Rita Prickly Pear & The Tough Succulents like Agave.
Now -   For a little color in your Garden, you could try the 'Red Yucca' or the 
'Firecracker Penstemon (which is a hummingbird favorite).
Not only can these plants survive and thrive in the full desert sun, they can also withstand those freezing night temperatures that can get down to the teens. You should also check your local nursery on which is the best plants that will grow in your area.
Here is a list that works well in drought areas for Gardens;
*Yellow Columbine
*Bunny Ears Cactus
*Indian Paintbrush
*Green-flowered hedgehog cactus
*Russian Sage
*Tevas Blue Sage
*Wine Cup
*Agastache 
Troubleshooting with the Dry Soil- 
First of all, you need to figure out what the soil is like in your yard or what you can find to put  in your pots. Why?because usually  in Drought Tolerant Gardens, the soil tends to have high PH & low organic matter in your soil. What you'll need to do in helping the high PH levels & low organic matter in the soil is... Adapting the soil to these dry regions, which is so very important for your Garden to produce blooms or vegetables. One the best ways to help these

Challenges of the arid soil are by adding compost in small portions. [I have done a post all about composting and will put the link to it after this for you all to make your own compost bins. It is very easy to do. I myself have been doing it for years and just yesterday empty in out half way and got lots of great organic dirt and saved all my red worms for all the rest of the food scraps that will put in there]http://wendyjargonncom.blogspot.com/search/label/Tips%20From%20the%20Garden%7EComposting.
How you don't want to overdue on the compost because adding too much can lead to root rot. The dry soil is not used to the organic matter and you have to do this slowly. It can also lead to floppy growth, whereas mulching conserves moisture and suppresses weeds. Another idea would be putting rocks and gravel around the plants. In doing this It will also help prevent soil erosion. Note: I have been using compost soil for many years, so once you get the hand of how to use the moist dirt, then you can use it more often in most of all your potted  plants like I have done for the last 19years. 
Dealing with the Drought Type Garden-

As for watering in a Drought area, it's easy to take a wrong turn when watering your drought garden. You could either water too much or too little. To make sure your plants get the optimal amount of water, set up a drip irrigation, which allows moisture to seep slowly into the soil down deep into the roots. A drip irrigation system can be as simple as a punctured garden hose or milk jug. How to make your own; 

Here is a good link  birdandblooms.com/diymilkjug

Desert Gardens can be tricky, but not impossible.

I hope that you find some good tips for Gardening for

The upcoming spring and summer. 

Love you all 

Your Friend Always

WENDY