Hello again, Guanacaste shores and
welcome back. Last week I suggested that you start
learning to Xeriscape so I am back with more
suggestions for your yard. Let’s start with things
you probably see around you all the time. Palms.
Palms are known as beach plants. Who hasn’t seen
pictures of them lining the edges of the sand?
Need a shorter palm? Try the Bismarck palm, short
and spiky and ready for the heat.
Do you want shade? The beach almond is a wonderful
tree that will provide ample shade for your home
and yard. I grew several from seeds I found at the
beach but the leaf cutters got them. More shade
with flowers? The Cassia fistula or golden shower,
may be a little slow growing but your patience
will be rewarded when you see the flowers.
The Duranta repens, called sky flower for
its blue flowers or golden dewdrop for its yellow
fruits is a great favorite grown as a shrub or
pruned into a hedge. Butterflies are attracted to
the flowers and birds will swarm the plant for the
fruits. Because some branches will hold fruit
while it is still in flower, you can have the best
of both worlds in terms of wildlife.
Pride of Barbados, Caesalpinia pulcherrima,
is a fantastic flowering plant that loves
Guanacaste weather. The color of the flowers is
amazing.
If you want a bright flower bed, red valerian is a
good choice. It grows well in poor soil and is
drought tolerant. Red valerian (it comes in other
shades) can actually become invasive so
deadheading is essential. Or you can just give the
new plants to neighbors who admire your garden.
The euphorbia or spurge group can tolerate poor
soils and drought. The ‘crown of thorns’ plant is
an upright euphorbia with beautiful flowers that
tolerates temperatures above 90 degrees. Others of
the group will form a creeping carpet in the
garden complete with fragrant flowers or rear up
into a tall plant. Euphorbias are great for
beginning gardeners because they are very hard to
kill.
If you want to attract bees to the garden and need
something low growing, rock soapwart is a good
choice as it only gets about four inches tall.
Soapwart sprawls across rocks and can form small
scattered mounds. The flowers are a pinkish color
and brighten up the yard.
So, Guanacaste gardeners down there in the hot dry
areas of the coast, go look for drought tolerant
plants at Cocobolo Tree Farm or your local
nursery. Please pass on impatiens. I know they
look lovely but they demand water all the time.
Love your plant -Xeriscape.
Plant
for the Week
Here it is, the euphorbia called crown of thorns,
and it is so thorny. Still, set back away from the
garden path, it can be spectacular, growing up to
six feet tall. Water to establish but then it will
be both drought and salt tolerant, just right for
the beach. Wear gloves when you work with the plant
as the sap can be an irritant.
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Editor's note: For more information on this
article of request for information about
gardening, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener
columnist, can be reached at victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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