Welcome back to the 1950’s
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Gardening in a long term Drought
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Most San Antonians weren’t around here back in the 1950’s, but if you talk to the old timers that were here, they will tell you about years without significant rain. They weren’t completely rainless years, but they were extremely low, much like 2011 has been. In fact no year during the 1950’s was as dry as this year has been.
The Edwards’ Aquifer stayed below 660 ft. (stage 1) from June 1950 until January 1958, Below 650 ft. (stage 2) from June 1951 to June 1957, Below 640 ft. (stage 3) from June 1953 to April 1957, And at or below 630 ft. (stage 4) from June 1955 to March 1957. There were some shorter spells of stage 3 and 4 scattered in 1950 to 1958 time frame cited above, but the message is clear. By the standards of today, San Antonio would have been in Drought restriction for 7 ½ years straight. You also have take into consideration that the population of San Antonio was less than half of what it is now. This is the reality of drought in South Central Texas.
O.k., that’s the scary stuff right up front. So how does the average homeowner landscape his existing or new yard, for long term drought? Are rocks, gravel, and cactus our future? Well the answer is a combination of yes and no. Yes, in that full yard grass lawns are no longer practical in our water stressed environment. No, in that cactus and rocks are not your only options.
My approach to the landscape of San Antonio’s future is a layered look. When a person steps out his/her front or back door, they will look upon a small patch of lawn , no bigger than what they can reach with a hand held hose from the confines of the porch. (for those on shifting clay soils, this patch may have to circle the house in order to provide protection from shifting soils on their foundations).
The patch of grass will be immediately followed by two types of landscape areas. Those areas in full sun, paths covered in crushed granite meandering through mounded raised beds covered in deep wood mulch, full of perennial succulents like agaves, cacti, sotols, nolinas, and yuccas. These plants will anchor these full sun plantings, but they will not be alone, hardy flowering perennials that grow in dry climates will flourish along side the anchor plants. Some of these plants you will recognize, Pride of Barbados, a.k.a. Mexican Bird of Paradise, Yellow Bells, a.k.a. Esperanza, the very tough and under utilized Hummingbird Bush, and the very beautiful Firecracker Fern. There are others as well. As a goundcover in these full sun beds the sky blue flowers of Blue Daze will mix well in a carpet of the ground hugging silver Wooly Stemodia. Perennial groundcover Wedelia will also grow in these sun areas, with it’s golden daisy heads rising a few inches off the ground. For annual color Purslane, Moss Rose, and Vinca will give colorful accents to your full sun planting.
As you work into those areas that are in the shade of the trees that still exist on your property, your surface mulch can change from crushed granite to wood mulches, this particularly true as you try to save and protect your existing trees and shrubs that have not succumbed to the drought. Be aware that if the drought continues you will lose some of your established shrubs and trees, which were either to new, or just poorly adapted to the increasingly harsh climate. Mulch deeply, no less than 4” in your shade areas. Old shrubs and trees will appear to die without rhyme or reason, it will really come down to who is the toughest or in the best spot. Your shaded areas should take on the appearance of a shaded woodland, less formality. Along the sunny edges and gaps in the canopy above, traditional favorites like Salvia Greggii, Lantana, Plumbago, Rock Rose Pavonia, Jatropha a.k.a. Spicebush, and Golden Thryalis will keep the hummingbirds and butterflies happy. Groundcovers like Blue Shade, Wedelia, and pigeonberry will grow as nice accents in these transition zones. As you get into the deeper shade Turks Cap (now in red, pink, and white), Firespike, and American Beautyberry will bring color to these shadier areas, in the deep mulch.
Throughout the yard starting at the porch and working there way throughout the yard, beautiful pots should accent all areas with drought tolerant plants that will grow in different lights. Close to the house, traditional favorites like Bougainvillea, and Hibiscus will still have there place, within easy reach of the hose. Further out as you get into full sun, beautiful Agaves, Aloes, Crown of Thorns, Donkey Ears, and Cacti can center your large colorful pots, each one surrounded by succulent annuals for color like Purslane, Moss Rose, and Ice plants, blooming up a summer storm of color. Yard art is also an important aspect of this new dryer planting, boulders, statuary, metal art, even tree stumps can be a part of the mix. A cleanly cut tree stump, no more than 2 ft. tall makes an excellent stand for a pot or statute. Keep at least one bird bath within easy reach of one of your hoses, to help the wildlife in these dry times. As for your fences there are plenty of tough vines that will grow well, in the deep mulch shade, Virginia creeper will cover the ground and climb the fences and offers spectacular fall color. In the trasition zones between sun and shade there is nothing tougher than our native Tangerine Beauty Crossvine and its spectacular orange spring bloom. For full sun my favorite is a the native of the deserts of Baja California, Queen’s Crown (antiginon), which now comes in white, baby girl pink, and deep hot pink.
This is just the beginning of what we can do as San Antonians to take back our landscapes in this increasingly dry climate, The beauty of this landscape is that in dry years it will survive with minimal watering, and in wet years it will need almost no water at all. Over the course of the next few months, I will delve deeper into each aspect of our new approach to the San Antonio landscape, my goal is to try to come up with a clear plan of attack for each of our challenges in our landscapes. The desertification of South Central Texas is happening, slowly, occasional wet years followed by mostly dry ones. This is the reality, but this does not mean an end to the San Antonio landscape, it just means a new and different one.
Written by:
Ronnie Grell