[img]238|left|||no_popup[/img] To Californians, water is more valuable than gold.
Without water, the vast tracts of land that otherwise would be desert, especially in Southern California, would not flourish as they do today. Water always has been California’s greatest flash point.
Virtual wars have been fought over water rights. The most infamous of these struggles was over access to water from the Owens Valley at the foot of the Sierras. Although the controversy surrounding this battle for water was the backdrop for the 1974 film Chinatown, the silver screen didn’t truly capture the corruption and violence that engulfed the state.
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Southern California’s thirst for water and moneyed interests that drove the development of the Los Angeles Basin spawned the most extensive and complex water delivery system in the world. From 1905 through 1913, William Mulholland, the first head of the fledgling Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power directed the building of a 233 mile (375 km) system that brought water from the Owens Valley to L.A. The massive undertaking, which has been compared to the construction of the Panama Canal, required more than 2,000 workers and the digging of 164 tunnels.
Drought is no stranger to California.
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In the 1500s, California went through an 80-year drought. During the winter, there were blizzards in Central California, the Salinas River froze solid where it flowed into the Monterey Bay. In the summer, there was no humidity, no rain, and temperatures in the hundreds for many months.
Records in the 1840s reflect another drought that lasted nearly 10 years. Although the snowpack in the Sierras continued to supply the spring run-off in Northern and Central California, there was no measurable rain in the Southern quadrant. Los Angeles and its surrounding settlements were what they always had been, outposts in the desert.
While we’ve had some rain in the past several weeks, California is in the middle of another multi-year drought. In June, Gov. Schwarzenegger issued an Executive Order addressing the statewide drought situation plaguing California. In short, he said, California's in a water crisis, and we had better start conserving now.
Although it is currently voluntary, if these conditions persist, mandatory water rationing cannot be far behind. This means that non-essential uses, such as washing your car or maintaining your garden may be subject to strict government controls.
Water rationing doesn’t mean that your gardening or landscape has to be reduced to parched wasteland of dried weeds and stunted trees. Quite the opposite; the drought generates the opportunity to remake your garden in enchanting ways that allow you to plant in conformance with the unique Mediterranean conditions that characterize our region.
On Conservation
When most folks think of drought-tolerant or water-conserving plants, they envision spiny cactus punctuated with the occasional agave swimming in a sea of white gravel or decomposed granite. Although this is one way to beat the drought, water conservation landscaping has come a long way. The design opportunities are practically endless.
For years, landscaping in Southern California has been dominated by influences from the East Coast and Europe. In the 1950s and ‘60s, everyone wanted a broad lawn bordered by a white picket fence and flowers. Trees, like elm and maple, were imported from the East to line our streets. These plants may have been suitable to the wetter conditions of the East, but were, and continue to be, incompatible with requirements of our heartier and dryer climate.
Head for the Hills
To find plants suitable to your garden, you need look no further than to the flowers and trees that blanket the hillsides and arroyos of our region. Along every roadside and at each vista, you will see native plants that have survived thousands of years of drought and dry weather. Drought tolerant planting also doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice color.
[img]402|left|Ceanothus||no_popup[/img] Our native ceanothus is a perfect example. This perennial has the most beautiful deep blue blooms. In spring, the ceanothus turns our canyons into a deep blue wonderland. Its colors range from white/light blue to deep mystical blue. They are evergreen and bloom during spring. They smell like heaven. They reach 4 to 6 feet tall and as wide. After they're established they can live off sparse rainfall. Ceanothus love heavy clay, alkaline soil and grows fast. Don't over- water them or they'll die.
Aesthetic Options
[img]403|left|Desert Willow||no_popup[/img] Another native star is the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis). Desert Willow is a drought-tolerant shrub native to the western United States. It can grow up to 40 feet tall. It can be left as a shrub or trained into a tree with several trunks. It blooms from spring through fall, and it gets long dangling seed pods that can measure up to 8 inches long. The fragrant flowers bloom in white to pink and purple. The blooms are borne on long clusters with large, 2-inch flowers with contrasting stripes. Birds will eat the seeds. Bees and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. These shrubs will lose their leaves in the winter. They make a nice alternative to other pink flowering trees (like cherries) in dry landscapes.
[img]404|left|White Sage||no_popup[/img] The California White Sage (Salvia apiana) or the Garden Herb Sage (Salvia Officianalis) are two other hearty Southern California natives that can add color and fragrance to your landscape. The White Sage is native to Southern California and Baja. It usually is found growing wild in the coastal sage scrub habitat on the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. It grows 5 feet tall (at least) and 5 feet across. White Sage is also called Bee Sage, and it has leaves up to 4 inches long, thick and velvety and slightly sticky. The whole plant is very aromatic. So you should find a spot in your garden where you can enjoy its fragrance.
White sage is considered sacred by Native Americans, like the Chumash who used it for colds, coughs, sore throats and systemic poison oak rashes. This silvery plant seems to glow in the moonlight. The flowers are white, sometimes tinted purple, and they are produced in whorls on long branches up to 3 feet long. Its cousin, the Garden Sage, is similarly drought-resistant and doesn’t mind the heat. They like full sun to part shade, and they grow up to 2 feet tall and wide with beautiful blue blooms in the spring. As an added benefit, fresh sage is great for stuffing into chicken or turkey roasts.
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Healthy soil translates into greater water efficiency. Before you plant, use soil amendments, including well-composted organic matter. Changing irrigation patterns can also make a substantial difference on how you manage your water use.
Consider the installation of a drip system with timers. Only water after the sun has set. Daytime watering not only wastes water through evaporation, but on hot days, the prism made by water droplets can magnify the sun’s power, burning your plants.
At The Jungle Nursery, we specialize in drought-tolerant landscaping. We not only carry a wide selection of California native plants that are adaptable to our unique climate, but a range of specimens that thrive in other similar regions from throughout the world, such as New Zealand, Australia, Chile and South Africa.
We have experts who can help you find the right balance between color and texture, and who can assist you to select a watering system that is right for you.
To learn more about plants, visit our website at www.thejungle.biz or email me at carlos@thejungle.biz.
Carlos Saez is the owner of The Jungle Nursery, a leading designer garden center specializing in unique sculptural plants, tropicals, succulents, bamboo and a wide selection of indoor foliage including orchids. The Jungle, 1900 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles. 310. 235.2875.
Mr. Saez’ gardening column appears on Wednesdays.
