Posted by Sunset, July 16, 2009 in Sustainable gardening
By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine
As a weather geek, I follow rainfall patterns pretty closely. Lately it's been on the dry side: about 10 percent off in 2007-2008, 15 percent off so far in 2008-2009. After a dry June gave us less than half normal rainfall, I've seen unwatered lawns shift from straw color (normal dormancy) to brown (permanent damage).
The national scene is better overall, except in south Texas, which is having a drought is of epic proportions, and nearly the entire West except Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The map below shows how it looks to the people who monitor droughts nationally. You can check this for yourself—it's updated every week—at the National Drought Monitor web site, which is managed by the University of Nebraska.
Seeing the problem in such graphic terms, I think more about the importance, and inevitability, of dry-summer gardens. Out-of-staters laugh when I tell them that the Northwest has a Mediterranean climate, with dry summers and wet winters. In fact, my own garden averages 3 1/2 inches total rainfall in in June, July, and August, and 46 1/2 inches during the rest of the year. That means salvias, agastaches, penstemons, matilija poppies, and a host of similar Mediterranean plants will rejoice in the sunshine here.
You can easily make a dry-garden list for yourself by going to the Sunset Plant Finder, clicking on Advanced Search, and checking off boxes for full sun and minimal water. Suddenly your options won't seem so limited.
