English Style Xeriscape Gardens

Here in Northern Arizona Winter is finally slowly showing signs of Spring. January was harsh here. We had over 5 feet of snow fall within one week through a series of storms. That resulted in weeks of shoveling for me, along with the shoveling there was the job of clearing the weight off of roofs. My one client who has a house that was built in 1917 had the support beam on the porch break because of the weight of the snow.

I’ve talked too many here in Flagstaff and they are all talking about Spring. So following that consensus, let’s talk about Gardens. I would like to start the discussion by looking at English Style Xeriscape Gardens.

First let’s briefly describe what Xeriscape Landscape is. The concept was originally developed by a special task force in Colorado, which was comprised of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, Denver Water Department and Colorado State University. The origins of the word Xeriscape is from the Greek word ‘Xeros’, which means ‘Dry’.

Xeriscape landscapes are landscapes that use water-efficient plants or landscapes that use little supplemental water. The principles in Xeriscaping are good horticultural practices that apply to the environment of your particular region. Therefore, some of the benefits of Xeriscaping include having beautiful landscapes that use water-efficient plants.

A traditional English Garden has always been known for its lush green gardens and lawns, with colorful flowers built into a relaxing outdoor hideaway. The lush plant life, secluded sitting areas and meandering walkways can create the romantic elements to English Gardens.

So now the question is how do you combine the principles of Xeriscape with the beauty of an English Garden?

The answer lies in combining the concepts of an English Garden while incorporating the principles of Xeriscape landscaping.

The main components of an English Garden are:
• Winding Paths
• Sitting areas
• Colorful Plants in irregular shaped beds
• Garden Arbors & Potted Plants
• Wildlife Habitats & Ponds
• Rustic Fences or Stone Walls
• Gazebos & Bridges

All of these components can be incorporated into any landscape design. Then by adding the principles of Xeriscape landscaping, you end up with an English style Garden that uses native plants to create that secret hideaway. That can be enjoyed by all.

So how does this look and is it feasible. Let’s look at an example. Since I live in Northern Arizona, let’s use that as the location. Most yards are of modest size and usually have cedar fences.

The first component is the secluded sitting area. So let’s replace the oak, elm or maple tree with a grove of Aspens in semi-circular pattern and hidden within this grove we add a garden bench or even a couple of redwood chairs with table. This area is situated that you can view the rest of the garden.

Now around this area let’s design a number of flower beds of various sizes and shapes. So let’s place one bed near the house. In this bed we’ll have a trellis with Old Blush, Cecile Brunner or Ivy. In front of that we’ll replace the typical English perennials with Purple Coneflower, Winecup, Purple Loosestrife, Oxeye Daisy, Yarrow, Iris, Russian sage, yellow or red-and-yellow Columbine.

Now in the center of the yard, we’ll add a small lawn that surrounds another flower bed that has a lawn statue with a rustic appearance. In this flower bed let’s plant some annuals such as bachelor button, cosmos, Texas bluebells, trailing lantana, poppies and larkspur. All are planted from seed except lantana and bluebells, which are usually started from transplants.

Now off to the far side we’ll create a wildlife habitat. So let’s start with another grove of Aspen, no Mountain Ash. In the shadows of the trees, we’ll add a final flower bed. In this bed we’ll add a birdbath. Let’s surround the birdbath a flowering groundcover and along the edges we’ll add a couple of flowering bushes. We’ll then add a couple of birdfeeders and maybe a birdhouse.

We have now created an English Style Xeriscape Garden in Northern Arizona.

If you’re starting from scratch, you will have a beautiful garden within a few years.