If you haven’t already noticed, the price of water has gone up significantly. Newspapers, horticultural magazines, and your friendly water department have bombarded you with suggestions for saving and conserving water. We will add our voice to that chorus and hope you will find something usable.

Idea #1
Lawns use more water per square meter than any other part of the landscape. Why not remove one or two feet of lawn all around its perimeter and thus enlarge the flower beds surrounding the lawn. Most people have flower beds that are too narrow, anyway! We suggest flower beds that are four to eight feet wide. Fill in this newly acquired space with annuals (Impatiens or petunias or whatever) until the shrubs take over. You probably will have to adjust your sprinkler system as well. Think soaker hose. Shrubs, especially hedges and foundation plants are more efficiently and economically irrigated with Gilmore soaker hoses than by other methods. Usually, you ooze them three to four hours once a week. There is no spray; water just drips or oozes very slowly.

Trees and turf don’t mix so if you have a tree in the lawn area, do some redesign work so that they become separated.

Idea #2
Then, what are you doing with the rinse water from your washing machine? Mr. Ed has connected a 50 foot hose to the discharge hose from the washing machine and runs it out to a group of birch trees and a big toyon bush. This has been going on for six or seven years and all the plants are thriving. Although the water may contain soap suds or bleach, there has been no harm to the plants.

Idea #3
If there is a bare area that needs total landscaping, think of xerophytic plants surrounded by light colored rock. Clean and level (or mound) the area, water it to bring up the weeds and then spray herbicide to kill all the weeds. Cover the area with weed barrier cloth if you are not going to plant annuals or bulbs. Place a couple or more of large light colored rocks (3 feet or more long) off center into the area and cover one-quarter to one-third of their base with soil. Don’t just have rocks sitting on the surface of the ground; it does not look natural. Cut ‘X’ shaped flaps in the cloth to locate your plants. Put the plants around the specimen rocks and in other natural looking locations. A large grass such as Red Fountain Grass can sit by itself. The smaller grasses should be clustered or planted around the rocks with a minimum of three in a group. The following grasses should be able to survive on a drip system set for one gallon of water per week: Blue Fescue, Japanese Blood Grass, Blue Oat Grass, Fountain Grass and Rattlesnake Grass. The Red Fountain Grass will need two or three gallons per week. Bush Germander and Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ will get big enough to stand alone or perhaps as a group of three and will need about two gallons of water per week. Ten to twelve mixed colors of Yarrow will make a colorful display planted alone and will require about eight gallons of water per week for the whole cluster.

Two bulbous plants: Spring Starflower and Anomatheca laxa (no common name) can survive entirely on winter rain. They should be planted as a group in front of a grass cluster or near one of the big rocks.

When the plants and drip lines have all been placed, cover the entire area with two or three inches of one-inch ‘Desert Gold’ rock. This will act as a mulch to suppress weeds and evaporation. It will also act as a neutral background for the plants you have installed. Depending on the size of the area you will use less water than one of your toilets does during a week.

Idea #4
One final possibility if you want to see more California green in the spring: Get a few pounds of our Pacific Coast Seed Non-Irrigated Pasture Mix and scatter this over part of your area before covering it with the ‘Desert Gold’ rock. No need to water the seed or set up a drip system. Just let Mother Nature do her thing--let the seeds sprout, grow and re-seed for future generations.

Remember, most plants need water all year round. Some can go dormant and live on stored water. Some survive as dried seeds and start anew each year. And some can survive on very small amounts of water which you supply on a regular basis. However, do not expect that there are plants you can install and then never have to water them. Most plants can survive just a little bit longer than you would if neither of you receive any water.

Continuing our series on fruit trees for Dad, we thought that a few citrus trees would be a practical gift planted in the garden or on the patio in large containers. Meyer Lemon, Bearss Lime or a Nagami Kumquat can be kept small and so are suitable for ground or container.

Each of these citrus plants will grow and produce fruit equally well in the ground or in a large container (20 gallon or more). All will produce fruit any place in the Bay Area but will require protection if the temperature drops below 28°F. Refer to our Care Guide on Citrus Trees for detailed care and feeding.

The Bearss lime fruit grows to be about the size of a lemon. If it is left on the tree long enough, the skin turns yellow and might be mistaken for a lemon. When cut open, however, the inside is green and seedless with a distinct lime fragrance. Dad might be delighted to pick a fresh lime for his gin and tonic. The smaller bartenders lime does not usually perform well in this area where we do not get the high temperatures it requires. Mr. Ed has been told that the Bearss lime also does wonders with a Corona.

The Meyer lemon is actually a hybrid which accounts for its thinner skin and exceptional juiciness. If dad enjoys cool lemonade while mowing the lawn, this is the one for him! In addition to its exceptional juiciness, it is sweeter than all other lemons. An additional bonus is that Mom can go out and pick a lemon to season her fish at any time of the year. If the children are entrepreneurial, Meyer lemonade is a great sales product.

And then there is the kumquat. Many people treat these little fruits as a novelty but they are quite delicious and refreshing. These are the little fellows you pop entirely into your mouth and chew, chew, chew. They are ‘backwards’ because the skin is sweet and the flesh is tart. When the guests are sitting on the patio on Father’s Day, Dad can amaze and delight everyone by plucking a kumquat fruit and munching it in one mouthful. He will then, of course, offer to share with others willing to try. Be assured, the children or grandchildren will be first in line.

So, there you have three citrus trees guaranteed to please and delight dad, whether they be planted in the landscape or used as accents on the patio.

Wegman’s Bedding Department has a large selection of ground covers. Ground covers are great for water conservation and look terrific! Here are a couple of ideas that give your garden depth and color.

Woolly Thyme forms a flat-to-undulating mat 2 to 3 inches high. The stems of woolly thyme are densely clothed with elliptical, woolly gray leaves. Woolly thyme blooms sparsely and seldom but when it does it produces pinkish flowers in summer. Use in rock crevices, between stepping stones, spilling over banks, up hillsides or over raised beds. Woolly thyme is drought tolerant and likes regular watering.

Blue Star Creeper is a star in the garden. In bloom it covers your area with a light blue flower. Out of season it is a deep emerald green. Blue Star Creeper likes shade in the warmest areas and regular watering. The small ground-hugging plant reaches just 2 to 3 inches high in bloom with creeping, branching stems that root at the joints. Set plant 8 to 12 inches apart and fertilize periodically. Small, closely set leaves and tolerance for an occasional footstep make them choice selections for use between stepping stones. Blue Star Creeper blooms in late spring and summer.

This is the time to fertilize your fruit and citrus trees as well as vines. Deciduous fruit trees (apples, peach, etc.) are normally fertilized around Memorial Day and Labor Day. Citrus trees are fertilized around Valentine’s Day, Income Tax Day and Memorial Day. Wegman’s recommends these products:

For Fruit Trees and Vines
Master Nursery Fruit Tree & Vine Food is a granular blend of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium plus numerous micronutrients (calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron manganese and zinc) which Big Box store fertilizers lack. It is formulated to encourage growth and quality fruit production. In addition to regular pre-harvest feedings, a feeding after the fruit is harvested is critical in aiding in the development of next year's fruit buds.

For Citrus Trees
Master Nursery Citrus Food is formulated for the home garden. It contains the essential nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, plus the micronutrients listed above which assist in the development of blooms and fruit.

Dr. Earth’s Fruit Tree Fertilizer is an organic alternative. Remember--organics take a bit longer to work so plan to use a few weeks ahead of a non-organic fertilizer. Dr. Earth’s Fruit Tree Fertilizer is a superior blend of feather meal, fish bone meal, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, soft rock phosphate, mined potassium sulphate, humic acid, seaweed extract, beneficial soil microbes plus ecto- and endo-mycorrhizae. Note that organic fertilizers lack iron so sprinkle a handful or two of Iron Plus in with your organic fertilizer. Use on all fruit and citrus trees, vines, berries, grapes, avocado and other trees.