Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Pueblo Xeric Garden Tour - 5

Not wanting to make an additional trip to Pueblo on Sunday, I decided to go on to Pueblo West and scout out the private gardens there. Two hosts were home and graciously allowed me to look over their gardens a day early. This one is only five years old and is adjacent to the Desert Hawk golf course. This is what the tour guide says about it: "Because the homeowners wanted time to devote to recreation, including golf, they created a low maintenance, lawn-free landscape. they selected a variety of drought tolerant plants that add winter color and interest to their yard. Plants are grouped by like water needs, and are planted in groups of 3, 5, or 7. The homeowners' water bills are significantly lower than those of their neighbors. The watering system consists of soaker hoses and a relatively inexpensive programmable timer."This photo looks across the back yard from the house area. You can pretty well tell where the soaker hoses are buried, because there is more plant life over them. The lady told me they water each zone for one hour, every third day, and they do not go over their minimum for water. Mulching is wood chips and paths are either brick or red rock outlined with river rock. Looking toward the front of the house, from the street, you can see the "spill" of large rocks along the edge of the driveway and street. They said they had the rocks put down, then they just dumped a bag of soil anywhere they wanted to add a plant, and the plants all grew. This is another view of the rock "spill" next to the driveway, showing the flowering plants to a better advantage. They all seem to be thriving. This is a different house and since no one was home, I only saw the front yard as a drive-by. It is a little too xeric for my taste, but I thought this cactus arrangement was rather interesting... But I'm glad it is not in my neighborhood!

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