Hot Zone Xeriscape

The front of our house faces due west, so the front yard gets blasted with the summer furnace, er, sun in the hottest part of the day. There is no shade at all. I do not want to water it either. Whatever I plant there will need to be tough as nails!

Having lived in New Mexico near Santa Fe, I am familiar with High Country Gardens. We used to shop there all the time. They are experts at xeriscaping, and you can tour their gardens. One of my all-time favorite garden centers!

I used their catalog to plan my hot zone out front. I am planting a "zone 3 xeric" area along the street where my garden hoses won't reach well and where the sun blasts it all day and evening. Most of my choices are rated for 15 inches or less of annual rain, which should suffice for summer here. :-D They are all also rabbit resistant. (I doubt they are dog trampling resistant, though. Sigh. The neighbors let their dogs run free. GRRR.)

My choices: Russian sage, Jupiter's beard, rudebeckia, artemesia silver sage, catmint, munro's globemallow, lantana, veronica speedwell, gaillardia Arizona red, perky Sue, Alamo canyon penstemon, prairie zinnia, mirabilis, oxeye daisy, blackfoot daisy, and red yucca.

Having said I used High Country Gardens' catalog, I actually ordered the seeds from someone else. HCG does not sell seeds for what I want, The area is so large that I cannot afford to buy plants for everything. I need most to grow from seed.

I will buy some plants from them, but not everything. I bought seeds online for: prairie zinnia, blackfoot daisy, gaillardia Arizona red, perky Sue, and mirabilis. I will buy seeds locally for Jupiter's beard, oxeye daisy, lavender, and rudebeckia. I can buy red yucca, artemesia, russian Sage, catmint, and lantana locally. That leaves purchasing Alamo canyon penstemon, veronica speedwell, and munro's globemallow from HCG.

Still trying to figure out what to do about the lawn. Sigh. Baby steps. Baby steps.