Looking for a cool garden idea to rejuvenate your landscape? Want it to be a project you can knock out in a weekend? You've come to the right place! In this episode, host Maureen Gilmer shows how easy it is to create a dramatic cactus garden -- in just two days. A Southwestern cactus garden is a great way to bring a bit of the desert into your backyard; southwesterners who usually get left out when it comes to garden programming, this is the project for you! Before jumping into the planting process, it's essential to plan a design so you'll know exactly what you want to do before you head to the nursery. Here, Gilmer uses some landscape software and a digital picture of the featured site to help create her plan. This method allows her to experiment with various plants and arrangement options to achieve the best possible plan. Initially, the site is literally a blank slate, with no plants, structures or ornamentation of any kind (figure A). As she creates the elements of her plan, she begins with the addition of a retaining wall, which will be constructed with lightweight Mexican volcanic stone and high- fired adobe bricks. Next, Gilmer adds images of small cacti groups just behind the wall, then includes some small agaves near the back of the site, which add dimension to the landscape with their great architectural form. Finally, Gilmer fills in the far back of the site with heat and drought-tolerant desert shrubs for seasonal color and a bit more contrast. The final result is a multi-layered effect; a few pieces of salvaged pottery and some gold gravel to top dress the site comprise the perfect finishing touches (figure B). This project, from start to finish, will take about 12 hours and is rated a "2" on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the most difficult). Ideal for the weekend! And, as Gilmer explains, the most challenging -- and important -- aspect of the project is creating a soil mix that facilitates great drainage. Here, Gilmer and the crew will use plants native to desert climates (figure C), but it's important to always choose varieties suitable for the climate where they'll be planted. Materials:
Standard garden tools
Perlite
Coarse sand
Soil
Artistic accents
Gold or other decorative gravel (optional)
Sharp knife (for cutting cacti)
Leather gloves
Lighting system
Plant material Once you've assembled all your materials, you're ready to get started! The site featured here boasts a variety of great characteristics that make it ideal for this project: a southwest-facing slope that gets plenty of sun, great drainage and a fabulous Peruvian Apple Cactus (Cereus Peruvianus), shown at left in figure D, which will serve as a the garden's focal point. Note: The family of cactaceae contains over 200 genera; almost all are native to North and South America. This Peruvian Apple Cactus exhibits blooms in varying stages of flowering. From the bud stage (figure E) to the open flower (figure F) and finally, to the fruit stage (figure G), each stage is indicative of the series of bud changes in most cacti. The fruits that develop at the end of the blooming cycle will actually grow large and become colorful over time. Note: Always wear gloves when working with cacti, since many have tiny barbed hairs or bristles called "glochids." (As Gilmer notes, "It's the thorns you can't see that you should be afraid of.") If, despite precautions, you still come in contact with small thorns or glochids, simply use basic adhesive tape to them from your skin. Unlike most plants, which have rootballs of substantial size, cacti have relatively small rootballs, as seen in figure H. Gilmer explains that it's this small number of roots that accounts for the drought-tolerance of these plants: since the root area is limited, all moisture is concentrated in the upper portion of the plant.
RESOURCES :
Plants from Monrovia Growers
Monrovia Growers
Website: www.monrovia.com
Cacti and Succulents
An assortment of cactus and succulent varieties.
Moorten Botanical Garden
Palm Springs, CA 92264
Phone: 760-327-6555
Soil Amendments and Fertilizers
Various fertilizing and soil enhancement products
Whitney Farms
Website: www.whitneyfarms.com
Volcanic Rock, Brick and Gravel
A variety of hardscape elements and materials.
Whitewater Rock and Supply
Whitewater, CA 92282
Email: wwrock@aol.com
Website: www.whitewater-rock.com
GUESTS :
Woody Minnich
Cactus Data Plants
9607 Avenue East S-12
Littlerock, CA 93543
Phone: 661-944-2784
Email: cactusdata@thegrid.net
Website: www.cactus-mall.com/cactusdataplants
Cacti Expert, Owner - Cactus Data Plants
| ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: | | Layout Plan |
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