The Xeriscape Issue - the Gardeners’ Gazette, Deleware Master Gardeners

1. The Quarterly Newsletter of the New Castle County Master Gardeners
The Gardeners’ Gazette
Volume 3, issue 3 Summer, 2011

THE XERISCAPE ISSUE
Xeriscape/The Dry Garden/Drought Tolerance
Is it just coincidence that the “summer issues” of Horticulture magazine,
The American Gardener and this Gazette are all concerned with the same
Inside this issue: topic(s)? Probably not, since we seem to be moving out of our meadow and
prairie and “new perennial” modes into issues of sustainable landscaping and
water conservation.
Brief summaries of several articles from these magazines might tempt
1,2 Master Gardeners to find and read the complete articles. But first a little in-
Xeriscape troduction to “xeric.”
3 In general, xeriscaping—a term apparently developed in the Arizona de-
Xeriscape in DE
sert—describes landscaping with xeric or drought-tolerant principles and
plants: choosing the right plant for the right place with the right water
Drought Garden 4
needs. Obviously, xeriscaped landscapes do not resemble English perennial
Mediterraneum Sea Holly 4 borders. “Dry gardens,” Jennifer Bennett writes, “are distinctly brighter,
more open, with the wavy foliage of succulents and much more gray foliage.
9 Plants that Thrive in 4 These gardens depend more on groundcovers and mulches than on stately,
Heat and Drought flowering perennials. There are, also, apt to be more taller grasses and few-
er vines” (p.12).
Book Review 5
Different in space, dry gardens are also different in time—with two grow-
ing seasons (spring and fall) and two difficult seasons (summer and winter).
Book Note 5 The dry garden is also more environmentally friendly because of the empha-
sis upon water conservation and because rain water is soft and at the same
temperature as the air. Characteristically, the dry garden is marked by dry
Let’s Go Shopping! 6 and rainless summers usually followed by a wet fall. But during the summer
months, when plants are growing and want to draw water through their
roots, how and when you water will determine what plants you can grow.
Watering, then, depends upon rainfall, plant choices, soil quality, sun and
In Defense of Books 7,8 shade.
That, in brief is the scoop on xeriscaping, but see the piece by Anna Mil-
ler “Xeriscape in DE” (page three) for further information and detail. So, now
on to the summaries (which, of course, you can skip if you’ve already read
Beth Chatto’s Gravel 9 the magazines!).
Garden Anthony Tesselaar is president and co-founder of Tesselaar Plants. His
company established five trial blocks (100 meters square) to test five sam-
ples of each of 37 cultivars; tests were replicated five times across five dif-
Heat & Drought Tolerant 10 ferent irrigation regimes. That is, irrigation was monitored to replace (cont.
Plants page 2)

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100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% of the evapotranspiration (ET) from each site. “ET is the moisture lost
from soil by action of the weather by plants’ usage.” The tests lasted through two Australian summers
(temperatures between 90 and 110 Fahrenheit); tests were monitored monthly for physical growth and
general aesthetic appeal. Several of Tesselaar’s “star” cultivars are mentioned in the Drought Tolerant
Plant list. An interesting side note: many plants don’t need as much water as once thought. Tesselaar
also references heat and drought tolerance studies at the Dallas Arboretum and the Department of Horti-
culture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado University (CO).
Dr. Ed Brotak’s article, ”Science Matters: Proving Drought,” in the same issue of Horticulture discuss-
es the botany or “how it works” of plant ET and water take up from the soil. As plant leaves release wa-
ter through ET, this release cause negative pressure that travels to the roots which act as suction that
frees water molecules from soil particles. “When a plant is releasing more water than it is able to replace
from the soil, it shuts its pores, creating a loss of [turgon] pressure that results in a limp, wilted appear-
ance” (p. 44). Brotak discusses weather factors in plants’ hydration process—sunlight, temperative, rela-
tive humidity, wind; he also discusses soil types and how rainfall (or lack thereof) affects ET.
Mary-Kate Mackey’s article “Planting a Dryland Garden” describes the Eugene, Oregon (drought condi-
tions? Yes!) xeric gardens of Marietta and Ernie O’Byrne and includes many drought tolerant plants (MKM
plants in the Drought Tolerant Plant List). They have created a “spectacular unthirsty landscape” at their
Northwest Garden Nursery (a source of xeric or drought-tolerant plants by the way). Ernie builds up one
foot tall mounds with 9” of sharp sand plus 3” of gravel on top of one foot of “quarter-ten” gravel. He
plants directly into the rocks in spring and fall and lets the roots get established. See the discussion (p.
9) of Beth Chatto’s gravel bed for something very similar to O’Byrne’s.
Seth Hogan’s Cistus Nursery (another source of drought-tolerant plants) in Sauvie Islands, fifteen
miles form Portland, Oregon is described in Kym Pokorny’s article “Oregon’s Plant Geek Extraordinaire.”
American Gardener (March/April 2011): 28-33). Hogan specializes in plants from South Africa, the Amer-
ican Southwest, Mexico, and South America. He coined the phrase “zonal denial,” which means “the abil-
ity to create any texture, look, or feel, however exotic, with plants that thrive in one’s own climate” (p.
28). The article includes descriptions of several plants suitable for growing in DE: Ceanothus, Cupresus
auzonica, Delosperma, Ficus caries, Opuntia, Tetrapanaxthe, Trachelo spermum. Hogan is also one of the
authors of Flora: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Timber Press, 2003.
The final article to be summarized here, Carol Bornstein’s “Water-Thrifty Buckwheats,” in The American
Gardener [vol. 90, no. 4(July/August 2011):14-19], is a lengthy discussion of Eriogonum spp American
native and two dozen perennial species. Buckwheats are useful for erosion control, edging, ground co-
vers, informal hedges, focal points, billowy shapes, rock gardens, mixed borders, and meadow and prai-
rie gardens. They grow in California and the Southwest in dry, sun drenched, rocky sites and flower in
summer and fall. They need to be chosen according to climate zone, and some are quite suitable for
colder climates: Eriogonum umbellatum (Sulfur Buckwheat) which forms prostrate mats to 18” by 3’;
E.u. var.aureum ‘Kannah Creek,” which is a groundcover with bright green leaves and huge yellow um-
brels; E.u.var.humistratum ‘Shasta Sulphur’ which forms a dense mound with yellow flowers; E. allenii
which is a shale barrens Buckwheat native to the Eastern U.S. The other, western varieties, might be dif-
ficult to find commercially.
Mentioned in this article are the following: Anthony Tesselaar. “Science Matters: Proving Drought Tolerance.” Horticulture vol. 108,
no. 5 (July/August 2011):28-29 [AT]; Dr. Ed Brotak.” A Drop to Drink: Keeping Track of How Plants use—and Lose—Water,” Horti-
culture , pp. 42-45; Mary-Kate Mackey. “Planting a Dryland Garden,” Horticulture, pp. 46-51 [MKM]; Carol Bornstein.”Water-
Thrifty Buckwheats.” The American Gardener vol. 90, no. 4 (July/August 2011): 14-19; Kym Pokorny. “Oregon’s Plant Geek Ex-
traordinaire.” The American Gardener (March/April 2011):28-33. Other sources of information can be found in Robert Nold. High
and Dry: Gardening with Cold-Hardy Dryland Plants. Timber Press, 2008; Beth Chatto references below; Jennifer Bennett. Dry-Land
Gardening: A Xeriscaping Guide for Dry-Summer, Cold-Winter Climates. Firefly Books, 1998.≠

3. V O LU M E 3 , I S S U E 3 T HE G A R D E NE R S ’ G A ZE T T E PAGE 3
`Xeriscape in Delaware?
[by Anna Miller]
Many people think of xeriscape as involving some very specialized planting practice restricted to areas with an arid
climate. The Greek word “xeris” meaning “dry”, conjures up images of cacti and gravel in the desert. But, according to
the Denver Water Company who coined the term in 1981, it refers mainly to the methods employed for efficient use of
water for landscaping, anywhere. The seven interconnected principles which define a xeriscape garden are:
1. Planning and design: Plants are not thrown together haphazardly but are planted only after careful and thought-
ful consideration for their needs and usages.
2. Limit turf usage: Lawns have a place in the home landscape. Nothing is more inviting than a nicely mown patch
of lawn to play on or to have a picnic; lawns also serve as a restive back drop for flower beds; we just don’t need acres
and acres of them.
3. Select and zone plants appropriately: Plants are healthiest if they fit in with the existing temperature and soil
moisture condition. In this instance, native plants are best since they have adapted and evolved to resist diseases and
to coexist with other species in the local environment.
4. Improve the soil: Use soil tests to determine existing nutrient levels and to provide proper nutrients based on the
tests’ recommendations. Use compost to amend and maintain the soil.
5. Use mulch: Mulch helps water retention and reduces weeds. It also plays a role in preventing soil erosion.
6. Irrigate, water efficiently: Water infrequently and deeply and only when required. It is better to use water on an
as needed basis rather than a fixed schedule.
7. Maintain the landscape: Plants’ health care is very like that of human’s: it’s not a one time deal. It needs ongoing
tender loving care. Consider how many different species well being depends on that of the plants; it’s a very small price
to pay for so much benefits.
From these guidelines, many of us are already practitioners. The Native Teaching Garden here at the Extension quali-
fies as an exemplary xeriscape garden. It is well designed, full of lush and colorful native plants; its water use is kept
to a minimum level; and a well organized group of Master Gardener keeps up with its routine maintenance. One extra
point that goes beyond the principles of xeriscaping: the garden also supports a diverse range of wild life. Any and all
who want to can enter this inviting oasis and share their presence with that of nature.
For further reading - Useful Xericape Links:
http://www.unitedwater.com/delaware/delaware-xeriscape.aspx
http://ag.udel.edu/extension/horticulture/pdf/hyg/hyg-81.pdf
http://www.unitedwater.com/delaware/delaware-xeriscape.aspx

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A Drought Garden
Given the erratic pattern of our summers—climate change seems to provide drenched then dry sum-
mers—are we going to continue dragging hoses and buckets, or running the sprinkler or soaker hose, or
turn on the automatic sprinkler system, to keep plants alive! Only a rhetorical question, you say? Or, do
we have to start thinking (and practicing) xeric gardening. Let’s look, for example. At what we might do
with a “driveway bed,” not very wide but certainly very long.
Start with ornamental grasses, coneflowers, rudbeckia, Echinacea, and Black-Eyed Susans. Add per-
haps some boltonia and perennial sunflowers (for late summer bloom), lots of small spring bulbs. Use
that favorite of Christopher Lloyd, Verbena bonariensis and some Forget-Me-Nots (and shake them both
out over the entire bed when they go to seed). Plant everything in broads sweeps or “drifts,” and then
mulch, and mulch, and mulch. ≠ [Editor]
[from an article by Mary Ruth Smith in the Upstate Gardeners’ Journal, vol.16, no.4 (July-August 2010): 18-19]
Mediterranean Sea Holly
By Alan Jewett
A plant I put in last year and that “thrives on neglect,” including drought, is Mediterranean Sea Holly,
such as Eryngium zabelli ‘Big Blue.’ Although not a native, Sea Holly does attract pollinators and pro-
vides a unique element because of its iridescent blue pinchushion blooms blue stems. There is a native
Eryngium (E.yuccifolium) ‘Rattlesnake Master’ that is also recommended for hardiness and landscape in-
terest but lacks the unique blue found in Mediterranean Sea Holly.≠
9 Plants that Thrive in Heat & Drought
Kristy Fergusson’s article “Vivales Anglais!” [BBC Gardens Illustrated issue 174 (June 2011):76-81)
describes nine plants that thrive in heat and drought: Oenothera stricta ’Sulphurea’ (obviously yellow
flowers; but self-seeds); Eremurus x isabellinus ‘Cleopatra’ (blooms in May-June, pink to red flowers on
tall spikes); Eryngium x tripartitum (which grows to 60cm); Centaurea ruthenica (which grows very tall
with yellow flowers); Allium carinatus subsp. Pulchellum (which is summer flowering); Salvia memorosa
‘Caradonna’ (which is upright, with dark blue-purple sterile flowers); Sedum ‘Abbeydore’; x Alcathaca
suffrutescens ‘Parkrondell’ (which is a tall, shrubby hollyhock); and Asphodeline liburnica (which has grey
foliage, star-shaped dark yellow flowers that bloom from midsummer). ≠

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Book Review
[By Anne Boyd]
From Art to Landscape by W. Gary Smith,Timber Press, Portland, 2010
Many of you may remember Gary Smith from his time as a UD professor in CANR and will rejoice to see
his new book linking artistic inspiration to landscape design and vice versa. This is not a landscaping
how-to book; rather, it is a way to integrate artistic vision and landscape. Are you finding this confusing?
Smith uses drawing exercises such as walking through an area and pausing every 20 paces to sketch the
landscape, to help you see the changes of perspective in a new way.
Gardeners in our area may turn first to the chapters that deal with local projects, such as Peirce’s
Woods at Longwood Gardens and Winterthur’s Enchanted Woods.
So has Smith inspired me to keep a sketchpad in my hand instead of weeding tools? Not yet. But his
book keeps drawing me in; this is a book to dip into periodically for inspiration and an appreciation of
Gary Smith’s creativity.
W. Gary Smith’s painting of the Oak Hill section of Winterthur Garden
Book Note-- Last year we reviewed Brother Gardeners by Andrea Wulf, detailing the interactions be-
tween American botanists like John Bartram and the garden establishment in England and Europe. Now
Wulf has published Founding Gardeners, rooted firmly on this side of the Atlantic. In it she tells the
stories of the founding fathers as gardeners and proponents of the plants of north America. So, accord-
ing to Wulf, Washington created an all-American garden at Mount Vernon using only native species, thus
scooping our own JW by a couple of centuries!

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LET’S GO SHOPPING
My friends and I love to go shopping. You could say we are experts in this field. We are also
Master Gardeners, from the class of 2011. We are going to visit nurseries and garden related re-
tail outlets in a fifty mile radius and publish our findings in the Master Gardeners’ Gazette. We
want to advise you of the great local places to shop and the trail we blazed to get there.
I met my shopper-mate at 12:30 p.m. sharp at the Half Moon Restaurant in Kennett Square,
PA. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We were ready for some good food and a pleasant
afternoon of shopping. You should also know that the store we were going to visit was having a
wine tasting with music provided by a local band. All the more reason to get going.
It was about a ten minute drive from the Half Moon to:
Home & Garden Culture, 907 E. Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, PA 19348
Phone: 610-388-6300 Fax: 610-765-1057 Online Store: www.gardenculture.com
It had been over a year since I last visited Culture. The additions to their inventory were evi-
dent as soon as we entered the driveway consisting of: Fountains; Artwork; Sculptures; Outdoor
Furniture; Garden Accents; Seasonal Gifts; Bird Baths; Antiques; Containers; Very Limited Nurse-
ry Stock; Wrought Iron (They will order wrought iron products for you).
And, they have an inventory of previously owned items. I can’t explain all of them to you, but
I do remember the following: a pair of eight foot pink storks, a pair of silver painted horses a lit-
tle bit larger than you would find on a carousel, and many pieces of wrought iron fencing. It is a
unique inventory good for about two hours of browsing. We think you will enjoy it and probably
end up buying something.
One of the things that I find helpful at Culture is that you will be waited on by the Jerger’s who
are the owner/operators of Culture, and very helpful and pleasant people. If you are looking for
something that they don’t have, they will help you find it. They have many books to look through
and they will also search the market for the item you are looking for.
We recommend a visit. When planning your visit, call to see when they will be having a wine
tasting. The Kreutz Creek Winery supplied the wine for the day. My shopper-mate and I can rec-
ommend their Cab Franc and Rose. Both wines were very nice, and that is the way it should be
for an enjoyable Saturday afternoon.
Our rating for this store is:
Inventory: Eclectic: A must visit (very limited nursery stock)
Service: Excellent
Location: Easy to get to
Prices: All prices seem to reflect fair market value
Discounts can be negotiated based on $ volume
Wine: Free
On a side note: the Kreutz Creek Winery has music events throughout the Summer and Fall
under the big top and a $10.00 admission fee. It is a BYOF (Bring Your Own Food), lawn chairs or
blanket. You can buy your wine there. No other alcohol is permitted on their property. All music
is rain or shine!
As Roy and Dale used to say: HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!! The Shoppers≠

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In Defense of Books
[By Debbe Krape]
When creating a garden or renovating a landscape, few gardeners would think of spending a
chunk of the budget on books instead of plants. Money spent on books won’t show and may re-
strict how much can be done. Why buy books when there is copious free advice on the Internet?
One reason for not relying on the Internet is that it can be labyrinthine, somewhat akin to an
immense building with myriad hallways connecting an infinite number of rooms, all of which often
makes finding a coherent overview of a topic impossible. Additionally, available advice on the In-
ternet may be outdated or inaccurate, particularly if authorship is unknown. Selected books writ-
ten by respected horticulturalists can, on the other hand, provide thorough, well-researched, com-
prehensive information, and, despite occasionally palpitation-causing prices, can be valuable re-
sources for professional as well as home gardeners.
Permanent elements in gardens and landscapes are usually layered from canopy trees, down
through understory trees, to woody shrubs and perennials. Having books on hand that address
the selection, placement, and care of these plants not only aids the process, but helps avoid costly
mistakes. Prices of the following books are easily justified by savings in time, money, effort, and
plants.
Since trees and woody shrubs provide the overall framework for a garden or landscape, Michael
Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Cul-
ture, Propagation, and Uses is considered the horticultural bible. Now in its sixth edition, this
manual gives thorough, detailed information about hundreds of plants. To aid plant identification,
Dirr begins with a brief discussion of plant morphology and an explanation of plant classification
and nomenclature. More than a thousand pages follow with detailed entries accompanied by line
drawings about plants from Abelia x grandiflora to Zanthoxylum americanum. Thorough enough
for horticultural professionals, the information is accessible to home gardeners as well. The price
of the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants is equal to, and sometimes less than, the cost of a well-
grown tree or specimen shrub. Money saved on the proper selection, care, and placement of one
plant—and what gardener buys only one?—justifies the cost of this book.
Perennials, the lowest layer, not only populate areas in and around trees and shrubs, but also
make up sunny beds and borders. A gardener can choose from several excellent books about per-
ennials depending on what he or she needs. When Perennials Bloom, by Tomasz Aniśko, Curator
of Plants at Longwood Gardens, begins with useful information about perennials in general: types,
both morphological and developmental; the factors affecting bloom time; perennials’ responses to
the environment; and basic principles of care. Detailed discussion and abundant photographs
(continued next page)

8. V O LU M E 3 , I S S U E 3 T HE G A R D E NE R S ’ G A ZE T T E PAGE 8
of specific plants comprise the bulk of the book. Accompanying these entries are small graphs
depicting a plant’s bloom period. At the end of the book, Aniśko simplifies the creation of a plan
for continuous bloom throughout the growing season with bar graphs that depict the often over-
lapping bloom times of all of the plants.
For the gardener less in need of detailed information about plants and their bloom times, but
uncertain of how to combine plants, a small book by Tom Fischer, 100 Dazzling Plant Combina-
tions for Every Season, proves quite useful. Shorter and happily less expensive, Fischer’s book is
filled with stunning photographs of these combinations by the appropriately named Richard
Bloom and Adrian Bloom.
The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, is the ideal resource for the gar-
dener needing both horticultural information and design guidance. Subtitled Building Beds and
Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs, DiSabato-Aust’s book is in two
parts: the first devoted to design principles and possible plant combinations, and the second
comprised of two very useful appendices. Appendix A is a list of the scientific and common
names of perennials, while the longer Appendix B is a comprehensive, alphabetically-arranged
chart of the design characteristics of plants, followed by lists of plants with specific qualities in-
cluding color, texture, fruit, foliage, and form. These lists are in turn sub-divided by categories
like tree, shrub, and vine, as well as by season, height, fragrance, appeal to wildlife, and other
useful characteristics.
Finally, as all gardeners know, things can go wrong even in the most thoughtfully planned
and conscientiously tended garden—insects show up and disease symptoms appear. Aggrega-
tions of digital photographs at various sites on the Internet facilitate identification of insects.
Diseases are trickier: different pathogens can present similar signs and symptoms and a single
pathogen can produce various effects. Dirr does a good job of describing pathogens that attack
woody plants and shrubs, but for threats to perennials, Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials from
the American Phytopathological Society is invaluable. Beginning with a brief, but thorough, over-
view of the diagnosis and management of diseases, the authors then identify twelve categories
of pathogens, their signs and symptoms, and their ecology and management. Following this
overview, the authors discuss these diseases in detail by host plant genus. The wealth of photo-
graphs of affected plants is a useful tool for both home gardeners and professionals when diag-
nosing problems. Treatment and management options are spelled out in the accompanying text.
Although the combined list price of these books is about $250, having these books available
for easy, frequent reference is an insurance policy, lessening the risk of poor choices, improper
placement, and inadequate care while providing greater assurance that the time money, and ef-
fort invested in a garden are well spent.≠

9. V O LU M E 3 , I S S U E 3 T HE G A R D E NE R S ’ G A ZE T T E PAGE 9
Review Essay: Beth Chatto’s The Gravel Garden
Like her Drought Resistant Planting (2000) and her later book The Dry Garden (1998), Beth
Chatto’s The Gravel Garden (Frances Lincoln, 2000) discusses drought-resistant planting on her
own three/quarter acre compacted and gravelly soil site in Essex, England. A former car park,
where the soil was first broken up (the gravelly soil is 20’ deep, overlaying clay), the site was
thickly spread with compost. From these conditions she produced a garden where plants survive
virtually without watering. Through trial and error, over time, she sorted the most reliable plants.
As we face a future of water conservation and shortages, along with poor soil, Chatto’s lessons
should be learned early.
The first 161pp are devoted to the gravel garden. The last 20pp are devoted to the Scree Gar-
den planted in fall 1999. This is five raised beds, tilted westward to catch the sun, which are filled
with small plants that would be “out of scale” in the main Gravel Garden and require sun and well-
drained soil (by which she means what we would call “run-of-bank gravel”). These five beds were
supplemented with compost, bonfire waste, and clean topsoil. The plants put in the Scree Garden
are listed (pp. 184-5) and include verticals, accent plants, flat creepers and sprawlers, and bulb-
ous plants—all gathered in terms of providing structure, accents, dominance, shape, strong verti-
cals and lots of sedums and other Alpine plants.
The bulk of the book is organized around the seasons (with three separate chapters devoted to
summer). Within each chapter sub-sections are organized around either plants (e.g., “Fascinating
Fritillaries,” “Wild Tulips and April Showers,” and “Electrifying Euphorbias”) or specific topics (e.g.,
“Pruning and Grooming”). The short sections on species tulips and euphorbias are especially in-
formative. “Summer Abundance,” for example, is divided into three sections emphasizing Grass
species and wild plants, but also mentioning favored Oriental Poppies. Those familiar with mead-
ow and prairie plantings will find many recognizable plants: Achillea, Cat mint, Verbascum bomby-
ciferum, wild gladiolus, Linaria, Alcea rugosa (wild hollyhock); early summer plants like Allium
moly, lavender, Kniphofia, Oriental Poppy, Centaurea, Verbena bonariensis, Helianthemum, Sta-
chys, Perovskia; and high summer plants like Mexican Feather Grass, Daisy flowers (Anthemis
tinctoria),Eryngium giganteum ‘Miss Wilmot’s Ghost,’ Stachys, Perovskia, etc.
Her list of “basic plants in the gravel garden (pp. 182-3) includes many we already know and
use in Zone 7: Tall Verticals—Alcea rugosa, Echinops spaerocephasus, Eremurus stenophyllus, Er-
emurus cultivars, Kniphofia, Lilium canadidum, Nepeta nuda subsp., Verbascum bombyciferum,
Verbena bonariensis, Yucca gloriosa; Medium-sized plants—Agapanthus, Allium spp., Alstromeria
cultivars, Eryngium, Gaura, Kniphofia, Linaria, Lychnis, Salvia spp.; Vertical grasses—
Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster,’ Helictotrichon sempervirens, Miscanthus sinesis, Stipa
calamagrostis, Stipa gigantean, Stipa tenuissima; Short Upright Plants—Kniphofia, Nepeta¸Salvia
nemorosa; Annuals—Papaver commutatum, Papaver rhoeas, Papaver somniferum; Large
Shrubs—Ceanothus, Cotoneaster, Lespedeza, Lonicera, Rhus typhina, Ribes speciosum; Smaller
Shrubs—Caryopteris, Lavandula; Bulbs—Allium, Anemone blanda, Chionodoxa, Colchicum, Crocus
spp., Fritillaria, Galanthus, Gladiolus communis, Scilla. [Editor] ≠

10. For information, contact
(Heat and) Drought-Tolerant Plants
University of Delaware Cooperative Extension
The symbols AT, CO and MKM refer to the three articles
mentioned in the lead article where these individual
New Castle County Office
plants are described in detail. Please see the full articles 461 Wyoming Road, Room 131
for complete information.
Newark, DE 19716-1303
Flower Carpet roses (AT)
(302) 831-2667
Soleil Petunia (AT)
Storm Agapanthus (AT) http://ag.udel.edu/nccmg
Tuxedo ceanothus (California lilac) (AT)
Bonfire Begonias (AT) Carrie J. Murphy, Extension Educator, Horticulture
Festival Burgundy cordline (AT) Editorial Board: Susan Amadio, Bob Deming (Editor), Bill
Tropicana Cannas (AT) Huxtable (Photo Editor), Cornelia Weil (Copy Editor), Pat Jack-
‘Peppermint Cooler’ vinca (CO) son, Meg MacDonald, Carmela Simons, Anne Boyd (Book Re-
‘Indian Summer’ Black-Eyed Susan (CO) view Editor)
‘Silver Dust’ dusty miller (CO)
‘Inca Yellow’ marigold (CO) Deadlines for articles in our quarterly issues are the se-
‘Bonanza Gold’ Zinna (CO) cond of each of these months: February, May, August,
[all of the following plants are mentioned in MKM November
(Mary-Kate Mackey)]
A cactus—Opuntia acanthocarpa
Penstemon
Sedums
Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum)
California poppies (Eschschoizia californica) It is the policy of the Delaware Cooperative Extension System that
Blue Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena) no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of
Hens & Chicks (Sempervirum spp.) race, color, sex, disability, age or national origin.
Mat Forming Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbel-
latum)—yellow, low (Zones 4-8)
Netleaf Oak (Quercus rugosa)-western na-
tive; 30’; Sun
Mexican Feather Grass (Nasella tenuissima)
Sun; panicles in summer; Zones 5-10
Yucca schottii—3’ white flowers; Summer
bloom, Sun, Zones 6-9
Hummingbird Mint (Agastache ‘Ava’) Sun to
partial shade, Zone 5-10
Agave parryi—patterned blue foliage; Sun;
Zones 4-10
Gladiolus tristis—spring bloom, pale cream
flowers
Desert Candles (Eremurus hybrids)—to 6’,
‘Cleopatra,’ Zones 5-8
Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum jamesii)—a one
foot shrub
Helleborus x sternii –grey-green foliage;
pink-white flowers; early Spring (Zones 5-8)
Fern Leaf Peony (Paeonia tenuifolia)—ruby
red flowers; Spring; Zones 5-8
Giant Sea Holly (Eryngium giganteum)—
biennial; self sows ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’
Brodiaea