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Show 2B Sun Advocate Price, Utah Thursday May 16, 2002 Native plant garden flourishes: Continued from page stemons happy. It is suggested to try to pick a site that is not infested wiftjKrcnnial weeds such aquaeKgPffifis Meld bindweed (wild morning glory) or whitetop. If people are planting into former lawn, make sure the lawn is really dead and gone kfore you start. Mixing natives into existing landscaping is tricky, kcausc most will USU extension gest taking advantage of this naturalmicroclimatc variation to increase the palette of plants that can grow successfully. General gardening principles apply to native ganlcn designs as well. Think about structure and texture as well as ' color: shrubs and small trees bkxim times across the season, and including plants that are evergreen or have other good winter features. The ecologists suggest to include i some plants that arc i and provide structure and color quickly, as well as shrubs and trees for longer-terJ effect. Be willing to be flexible in J Low Medium ' High the design: if a plant fails to per- Watering Watering Watering form, experiment with replacearea area area ments, until you discover a suite to of plants that arc the particular site. not thrive on a traditional Where do gardeners get native regime. If someone tries a native garden in one area of the yard and arc happy plants? The answer to the question of native plant availability is constantly with the results, the plant specialists sugthe the rest of landscape changing. Right now in Utah, the gest a inverting to natives. This can be accomplished in choices arc limited, but that could stages, over a period of months or even change very quickly as people become educated about the advantages of native years. What about design? As mentioned plant landscaping and demand begins to iibuve, the design for analivc garden can climb. If enough people go to a favorite traformal or informal. The UNPS website (www.unps.org) is expected to have ditional nursery and ask for native sample native front yard designs as well plants, availability will increase. A few as a plant information database, to give natives are widely available in traditional some ideas. A good place to start is to nurseries, but these are mostly stream-sid- e make a map of the planting site and to or mountain plants that can tolerlike golden curs size the ate the of out ovcrwatcring-plantarea This akmg figure with information on size at maturity for rant, river birch, red osier dogwood, the plants that the gardener intends to quaking aspen, and blue spruce. natives are conspicugrow, will help determine the plant Drought-toleraneeds. ously absent. fast-growi- high-wat- k. ss ' er a . one-thir- , old-tim- e, k er . . well-adapt- ed . . ( ng - erty, they suggest incurpnrating the native element from the Gardeners can decide what llic Iune- tionsof different parts of the landscape You do not have to go I IN) perwill cent native, there is still a place for hluc-grashade trees, lawn and Ivnglish-styl- e where they have a function," said the ecologists. Hut pick an area large enough to develop the native theme on its own. Most natives are not lush and cahhagy' like traditional garden plants, and they can look strange if just exposed with such plants. The front yard is an idcsil place to start, us lawn there (kiesn'l usually serve much of a function. For those that are retrofitting an older yard, pick an area to devote entirely to the native concept, a city strip or sidewalk edge or a sunny corner iKyond the reach of your sprinkler is a gtxxl dance. If possible, choose a spot that is sloping or where the soil is coarse, ;K many natives of your windows as vend-.- ; lators. If you have ,. keeping the sun out costs less than , , pumping it out. Many homes have, roof overhangs, designed to exclude the high summer sun by shading., south windows. A covered pore can do this too, as can tall shade, trees. If you are blessed with none. of these, there are some useful de- -. i vices you can use. Exterior shades are most effective; all shades ab- -. , sorb some heat, so it is better if the ; shades are outside than inside the home. Louvered projections above ; the windows can be attractive and. . leaks. Chances are your older economical; you might home has some. Not water leaks in self. These can be designed to block , the basement but leaks of air. You the high summer sun, but to admit ., may be heating or cooling all the solar heat in winter. Awnings are air in your house over again every an alternative. Operable shutters hour, or less. Leaks are more com- are an old device; if louvered, they. mon in the older home; it often was permit air circulation; if solid they. . built less tightly. Time has caused reduce. conducted heat. Louver- wear or warping, and dried out putty type insect screens are also obtain- - . and caulking. These leaks can be able, and can stop about 80 percent ' worse in wasting energy than hav- of sunlight in the south side. Inte-- , ing no insulation, but they cost a rior Venetian blinds or light drapes. ; lot less to fix. Leaks can account can reflect most solar heat, but heat, . d for up to of your energy they absorb warms the house. East and westwindows are more ; Where do you look for leaks? difficult to shade effectively since' Windows and doors are a starting sun is lower, so they admit far more. ; point. Most windows and doors do solar heat in summer months than not fit tightly in their frames; they a similar south window, need some tolerance to operate. shutters will work, but they block , g can seal these both light and view Most effective ; cracks without binding. Look for for east and west windows is a com- -, ' is it bination of tall deciduous trees, existing weather-strippin' and lower protective shubbery. A and ineffective? worn or missing Check the putty or caulking around vertical sunshade like a louvered, glass, and around the outside of fence can help. Interior Venetian . frames. Is it old and diy, cracked blinds or light drapes, again, reflect-or falling out? If so, the frame needs some heat but also absorb heat. Both windows and doors are . resealing. Poke around at the bottom of the siding, where it laps over poor thermal insulators, and both. lose a lot of heat by conduction. A .. the foundation. Is there a big openwindow may lose 20 , ing there? Stuff it with foam rub- single-pan- e ber or insulation, or even old news- times as much heat as an equal area of well insulated wall. Double glass. papers. Look at intersections of walls or where a wall butts can cut this high loss drastically. . against a chimney. Do these points In an older house, the least costly .; need recaulking? How about pipes, solution is to put on storm win-- , conduits or vents through outside dows. They will cut conduction ,. walls? Any leaks around them? If losses and reduce air leakage, too. , A solid wood door has about the ; bath ventilators go on with lights, same Install conduction loss as a wiadow. , heat. waste they separate with storm sash, but air leakage will switches. Dont overlook hatches or door- be higher. In the colder regions, , ways into your attic or crawl space. glass storm doors will save heat, but , g around all take longer than windows to pay for ; Use edges, the same as with windows themselves. Combination storm doors (with screens) are a conve-- . and doors. Caulking cracks and stuffing nience and allow ventilation. If cli- - . holes requires little skill. Caulking mate factors are extreme, hot or .' can be neatly done with a tube or cold, consider replacing yOur doors , g with spedally insulated ones, oc , . gun applicator. merits a second look. There are adding solid wood storm doors. A little investment of time and, ' many varieties; they vary slightly in use and some are more durable attention now, can produce big , than others. Follow the package wards this summer in beating ris- -' , ing energy costs. With the recent hike in energy costs people are looking for ways to conserve energy and cut costs. There are many ways to reduce energy waste, often at no cost or discomfort. In fact, some simple improvements in older homes can s in energy yield large and money. Whether you keep your home for years or sell it next month, you have a golden opportunity to invest in your property at a high return and little risk. You can get your money back with interest. Start saving energy by stopping r-. m get-tin- , savings-saving- combinations, spreading out slower-growi- This summer, you will want to, exclude solar heat, and take full ad- -, BY: ELLEN SERFUSTINI placed with perennials and ornamental grasses, harmonious color site, penstemons and other dmughthardy plants can tolerate some watering if the s il is sandy or gravelly or the site is sloping. g If. someone is interresled in started landscaingancwprop- - hard-to-wat- Simple improvements help conserve energy, cut costs Meyers and Schultz reminds gardeners to plants with similar water and sun requirements. The north side of the house is a whole different world from the south side: shady, cool, and moist rather than sunny, hot, and dry. They sug- require good drainage. If soil is very heavy and the site is flat, the gardener may have to add amendments such as sand or gravel to keep plants like pen- 111 Meyer ami Seliult pointsout thaf any yard cun Ik transformed into unattractive native landseaK. if you follow a few simple rules." Ilie lundiimental rule is to respect the needs of each kind of plant, (iroup plants with similar water requirements. The ecologists suggest not to try to penstemons in with plant dniught-hard- y petunias, or edge a hluegrass lawn with desert shruhs. Icm much water or fertility can he lethal, and for many natives any extra water or fertilizer after establishment is too much. Meyer and Schultz suggest choosing plants carefully for the shady parts of the yard. There are natives that can handle shade, hut most cannot. It also helps to consider (he soil and topography o! your planting 3 Weathe-strippin- . g; ! ; nt . 1 . or ; . . . - . . weather-strippin- . Weather-strippin- . 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