In article ,
"Cereus-validus" wrote:
Never understood why people insist on trying to create an English garden in
the desert southwest when there are thousands of other more suitable and far
more interesting Mediterranean climate plants that would do much better
under their conditions.
You will save yourself and your community much precious water by planting
things that will actually thrive in your climate.
Given sufficient shade, English ivy is amazingly drought-hardy, & just
might be a proper choice for a desert garden. It might be difficult to
provide a whopping 450 square feet of shade however, & I would personally
want a variety of interesting plants rather than a tedioius expanse of
just ivy. But in this case I'm not sure that wasting water is the right
criticism against ivy. Not that I've ever gardened in a desert...where I'd
be more inclined to grow lachenalias & succulents & build a giant pergola
from which to hang orchid cacti & other epiphytes. I'd miss my moist shade
garden but a shade garden of epiphytes would sure make up for whatever I
could no longer have in a hot place.
-paghat the ratgirl
"active805" wrote in message
om...
I live in a part of California that is Sunset Zone 15. I have a plot
of English Ivy ground cover that measures about 450 square feet. Most
of my plot gets too much sun in the summer, causing it to burn. I
want to screen the plot during mid-day, but how? Is there a fabric
sheeting I could lay on top of the plants? What a hassle that will
be. Any recommendations? Perhaps I could shade it with Italian
Cypress, but that would really alter the landscape.
Will extra watering protect English Ivy from the ravages of the
California sun? I am thinking of installing a drip system, but there
are so many types of drip emitters, and I don't know much about that.
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl:
http://www.paghat.com/