Getting That Lush Look, But Without All The Water…

With torrents of rain and a mountain range covered in feet of snow, it may be difficult to be concerned with water conservation, much less be thinking about your garden plans for 2023. But fear not! Spring will finally arrive and the gardening urge will get to many of us. Thing is: What should we plant and how should we plan to take care of it?

The Sacramento region is fortunate to have great growing weather for just about any type of plant if it’s planted in the right place, and there’s a wide variety of plants that look and feel lush, but actually take very little water to maintain once they’re established. The operative term here, however, is ‘once they’re established’, because all plants (trees included) need regular irrigation to get them going, with the idea being that irrigation can be reduced considerably after roughly a year of the plant being in the ground. Another important consideration is providing habitat for pollinating insects like hummingbirds, bees, ladybugs and butterflies. The great thing is, multiple goals can be achieved with the right plant selections.

One thing to consider: Many really drought tolerant plants don’t do well in the shade. If you have a really shady spot, consider plants like ferns, succulents and even camellias (contrary to popular opinion, they are drought tolerant once established). Most of the ‘dry lush’ plants fare better with partial shade. Pollinators mostly do best in full sun.

Great, multi-purpose, easy care plants to consider are:

Acacia ‘Cousin Itt’

Achillea (Yarrow)

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ (and many other types of Agave)

Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)

Feijoa (Pineapple Guava)

Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle)

Lantana

Lavender

Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’

Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo)

Rosemary

Salvia (there are many colors and forms)

John Nicolaus is a Sacramento-based landscape architect who has practiced for over 30 years throughout California and the west.