A Shrunken Garden
When we moved the bbq grill out of the courtyard corner by the kitchen door, I had a nice new sunny spot to build a flower garden. No tree roots to contend with, plenty of sun, close by the kitchen door and near the hose, protected inside the fence. This is what gets me excited . . .
I had to add many bags of compost to amend the dirt there and raise the level of the depression that had developed, so I did that in spring, mixing it in well with the native dirt.
I had so much fun selecting dry loving plants for a sunny location, and bought big lush specimens of plants known to do well here. I got them all from the local Waterwise sale that only sells Santa Fe adapted high altitude drought tolerant plants.
I planted them, watered them in well all spring, kept watering as summer came on, and . . .
. . . . every single one died. Every last one has either disappeared, laid down flat in the gravel, or has shriveled.
The coneflower went right away. Just up and died. The salvia -- sages are the definition of Santa Fe adapted plants -- does live, sort of, but is a limp pile of leaves laying in the gravel getting smaller and smaller.
Chocolate daisy, which grows in hot dirt at the Santa Fe botanical garden, has disintegrated and no longer has roots or leaves. A tuft of threadleaf fleabane, a weed really, came unmoored from its roots. A sulphur buckwheat is slowly getting smaller, and three beautiful scarlet flowered monardellas have disappeared. Obedient plants -- I got six of them to make a tall stand -- all withered.
Nepeta died in a pile of sticks, a lovely flowering scutellaria (skullcap) shrank to a limp stem with four stunted leaves. Black eyed Susans got about six inches high, wilted, refused to flower and are trying to sink back into the earth more each day.
All of these were described as doing well in tough conditions, needling little care and easy to grow. All were selected for hot dry conditions, all were watered well to get started. Many of them I had grown before in my last garden and they really were easy care.
Is there something wrong with the compost?? It is so odd for every single plant to die a wasting death like this. They didn't die from pests or lack of water. They weren't neglected or eaten or trampled. They all just shrank.
I have to start over this fall. Rake off the pea stone mulch again, take out the amended soil, find new dirt somewhere and start over to recreate something out of my poor shrunken garden.
 |
| Once the bbq grill was moved I had a crescent to plant with flowering perennials. I took out all the gravel, added bags of compost and planted it up. |
I had to add many bags of compost to amend the dirt there and raise the level of the depression that had developed, so I did that in spring, mixing it in well with the native dirt.
I had so much fun selecting dry loving plants for a sunny location, and bought big lush specimens of plants known to do well here. I got them all from the local Waterwise sale that only sells Santa Fe adapted high altitude drought tolerant plants.
 |
| This was the vision, a garden at Waterwise, showing plants well adapted to our conditions, all tough plants, easy to grow. |
I planted them, watered them in well all spring, kept watering as summer came on, and . . .
. . . . every single one died. Every last one has either disappeared, laid down flat in the gravel, or has shriveled.
The coneflower went right away. Just up and died. The salvia -- sages are the definition of Santa Fe adapted plants -- does live, sort of, but is a limp pile of leaves laying in the gravel getting smaller and smaller.
Chocolate daisy, which grows in hot dirt at the Santa Fe botanical garden, has disintegrated and no longer has roots or leaves. A tuft of threadleaf fleabane, a weed really, came unmoored from its roots. A sulphur buckwheat is slowly getting smaller, and three beautiful scarlet flowered monardellas have disappeared. Obedient plants -- I got six of them to make a tall stand -- all withered.
 |
| Fleabane came unhinged from its roots, just separated in two. |
Nepeta died in a pile of sticks, a lovely flowering scutellaria (skullcap) shrank to a limp stem with four stunted leaves. Black eyed Susans got about six inches high, wilted, refused to flower and are trying to sink back into the earth more each day.
All of these were described as doing well in tough conditions, needling little care and easy to grow. All were selected for hot dry conditions, all were watered well to get started. Many of them I had grown before in my last garden and they really were easy care.
 |
| A big beautiful plant when I bought it. Lasted 10 days in my garden. |
Is there something wrong with the compost?? It is so odd for every single plant to die a wasting death like this. They didn't die from pests or lack of water. They weren't neglected or eaten or trampled. They all just shrank.
I have to start over this fall. Rake off the pea stone mulch again, take out the amended soil, find new dirt somewhere and start over to recreate something out of my poor shrunken garden.
Comments