When David Tarrant was a young apprentice gardener in England, he spent
a lot of time pulling out a green and white variegated plant that was
considered a noxious weed.
Later, as the star of CBC’s Canadian Gardener, he learned goat’s beard
is a favourite ground cover in Western Canada.
Tarrant was at Calgary’s home and garden show Feb. 27-March 3 to talk
about prairie gardening in a drought.
His recommendations?
Plant into well-prepared soil, add compost every year, layer on mulch
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and leave the trash in the flower beds over the winter.
“People buy a plant and plant it in hardpan and expect it to grow,” he
said.
Compost and mulch can loosen soil as well as hold soil moisture and
provide protection against drying winds. Since snow cover is rarely
adequate in many southern prairie gardens, Tarrant suggests laying
landscape fabric over the ground to keep it from dehydrating.
When using chipped wood as a mulch, first place a protective layer of
compost over the soil. Wood mulch tends to draw nitrogen from the soil
as it breaks down.
Dried grass clippings serve well as mulch. Fresh clippings may have
some grass roots that start growing in the wrong place. Do not use
clippings from a lawn treated with weed killer.
Gardeners should be willing to experiment.
“Everybody has a microclimate in their yard. Planting zones are just a
guideline,” he said after his lecture.
“I’ll tell people something won’t grow in their area and 20 people will
tell me later that they’ve grown that plant for years.”
There are some rules of thumb for prairie gardeners in semi-arid
climates.
Try growing arrangements of hens-and-chicks. This plant is low to the
ground with thick, pointed leaves. It comes in a range of colours and
sets tall, spiky blooms in mid-summer.
“You can’t kill hens-and-chickens. You can use these very effectively
as drought-tolerant plants,” Tarrant said.
Plants with silvery grey foliage are also drought tolerant. These
include lambs ear, sage, hawkweed, dusty miller, silver mound artemesia
and thyme.
Barley or wheat grown in a small clump can also add interest to a
prairie flower garden.
As for shrubs and trees, try ground-hugging junipers, barberry bush,
elderberry, variegated dogwood, Manchurian lilacs or cottonwoods.
Many of these lack colour so Tarrant suggests experimenting with native
flowers. More garden centres are stocking native plants like crocus,
echinacea, brown-eyed susans and a variety of lilies that do well in
arid climates.
At the same time, many greenhouses offer new and different plants that
may not be hardy enough for this region. People should be careful when
straying from tried and true plants like geraniums, phlox, coral bells,
poppies and prairie cornflower.
When planting a flower garden, avoid the common mistake of buying one
of each plant. Place plants in groups of three or more for added
interest.
Besides planting drought-tolerant species, think twice about water use.
Instead of washing vegetables under a running tap, wash them in a bowl
or bucket. Throw the wastewater into the garden.
