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Show 4 -' - .j 'r -x IS .V , ' - '""-i- -: - ' - - -. .:-.: -; . . -i-ii--: ? v : , ; - -; .- ; :-. ; 4--?..'" :.- .... v . ; - '.. - Orin and Violet Wiler have done a tremendous job of landscaping their 1st North yard by utilizing native shrubs like yucca and sagebrush, as well as stones, petrified wood and even deer antlers. Landscaping With Karla Hancock . .'. Landscaping With Native Plants T, -wr , . r I i t 0 By Karla Rugh Hancock Many local residents have moved to Moab to make permanent homes after one or more visits to the area on a vacation basis. Often these newcomers are so taken with the austere beauty of desert and canyons that they wish to incorporate native plants into home landscaping plans. Such efforts may fail, for the reason that native plant, through the process of natural selection, have become finely attuned to specific climatic conditions difficult to duplicate in a domestic setting. However, as with any type of gardening, there are certain individuals who, through talent tal-ent or perseverance, or both, manage to succeed where we "ordinary mortals" fail, and the area of native gardening has its share of success stories. A Case of "Either-Or" As a general rule, the homeowner who wishes to landscape "naturally" on a large scale must decide in advance for that type of landscaping instead of going the usual green-lawn-flower beds-and-shrubbery route. For many townspeople, a yard area of bare sand or spotty desert groundcovers (such as the sand verbena or crested wheatgrass) may, perhaps incorrectly, suggest neglect. However, most native plantings plant-ings fail because they have been combined with domestic plants requiring richer soil mixtures and frequent irrigation. irriga-tion. Homeowners on the "bench" areas around the valley often find it less difficult to landscape "naturally" than do townspeople for a couple of reasons. First, as is apparent to the casual observer, just a few hundred feet or so above the valley proper, the pinyon junipers stands occur naturally; natural-ly; this is not the case on the valley floor. With careful planning prior to building, these shrubs can be incorporated incorpora-ted into landscape plans, providing the backdrop for smaller native shrubs and flowering plants. Additionally, because lots on the "bench" and in the "Heights" area are larger, and not strictly horizontal, the bare-ground effect is more pleasing and in keeping with the setting, thus eliminating the need for extensive lawn watering. Usually, even when gardeners garden-ers recognize that "droughtlike" "drought-like" conditions are necessary for the maintenance of native plantings, there is a tendency to be too protective of such at transplanting time. It is extremely difficult to judge adequate watering when x transplanting such sensitive plants. Yucca and varieties of cacti, which have their counterparts in non-desert areas of the country, seem to transplant well. Rabbitbrush, or Chami-sa, Chami-sa, can also be transplanted with fair success; however, many people find its odor objectionable. Continued on Page B6 Landscaping . . . Continued from Page Bl Get Agency Approval First Except for occasional offers of "wild plants" in mail order catalogs, there are few commercial com-mercial sources of native plants for homeowners. Although the supply appears ap-pears to be "everywhere, and free for the taking," plants on federal lands are not necessarily necessar-ily available to the public for landscaping purposes. No one needs to be reminded that plants should never be remov- ed from National Park Service lands. Both the Forest Service I and Bureau of Land Manage-I Manage-I ment have some trees and woody shrubs for sale on a permit basis, similar to the i procedure for securing Christ-' Christ-' mas trees. Persons wishing to I acquire other plant material I growing on land managed by either of these latter agencies should contact those offices for ! specifics. Some private land-I land-I owners will allow removal of I native plants when approach- ed reasonably. When the homeowner does I not wish to imitate the desert, but would like to landscape I "in harmony with it," there I are a number of trees and J shrubs which are distinctly I southwestern in flavor and appearance, but which will thrive under conventional con- I ditions of cultivation. Depending upon their suit- ability to lot size, etc. (as t mentioned in an earlier col- umn), such trees as the I cottonwood, Russian olive, I weeping willow, and tamarisk (or salt cedar) can be used to simulate a canyon setting. Red-twigged or osier dog-I dog-I wood, Pampas grass, rambling I and shrub roses, and trumpet vine all blend into a south- western landscaping plan and ' are easy to establsih. |
