Drycreek Blog

Penstemon Blooming

2011-06-12T17:58:40-04:00

It seems that after the biggest rain day in June in over ninety years, the penstemon are reacting in mass with abundant flowers.

There are almost three hundred species of penstemon (Plantaginaceae and/or Scrophulariaceae family). Also called beardtongue, penstemon vary greatly, with many shapes and sizes with flowers in a wide range of colors: blue, magenta, orange, pink, purple, red, white and even yellow. Foliage is varied, too, some with broad bright green leaves, others with delicate gray green, still others with almost blue leaves. Some types are tall, up to almost two feet; others are quite small, reaching only six or eight inches in height. Honeybees and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers.

Nevada is a penstemon paradise. Several types are native to the area and thrive on dry air and dry soil. They are perfect for xeric landscaping plans as well as sun drenched rock and container gardens. Many types, including European hybrids flourish here with little care and little watering. Give them full sun and well drained average soil and they'll be on their way to making June a bright and colorful month year after year.

Traditionally, Native American cultures used penstemon as a medicinal plant. The plant is beloved by many. There is even a Penstemon Society for true penstemon enthusiasts.

Penstemon is one of Drycreek's favorite and most popular perennials. Each year you can find many different types available.

Pasque Flower

2011-05-02T12:51:00-04:00

Springtime is when you'll see the beautiful Pasque Flower in bloom. Due to the timing and perhaps the color of its blooms, the Pasque Flower is sometimes called the Easter Flower. The name, pasque, means Easter, perhaps due to the timing and color of its flower. They are also sometimes referred to as campana, which might refer to way the flower resembles a church bell. Other common names include the Meadow Anemone, the Prairie Crocus and the Wind Flower. This cold hardy, low growing deciduous perennial is a native wildflower to the United States and Canada and can be seen in the wild growing in meadows and prairies and on southern alpine slopes of mountains from the Sierra to the Alaskan tundra.

As a welcome sign of spring, every party of this plant is interesting. The leaves are feathery, the nodding flowers come in bright purple, white, pink, lavender and deep maroon. The seed heads resemble the strange plumed heads of exotic birds.

The plant is drought tolerant, perfect for xeriscaping and rock gardens preferring a well drained, sandy or normal soil with southern or western exposure. At present, Drycreek has Pasque Flowers in four inch pots with flower stems ready to bloom.

Apparently the Pasque Flower was used extensively by Native American cultures for centuries, but takes skill and knowledge on how to utilize its powerful medicinal properties. For those without such Shamanistic abilities, the plant should be considered toxic, so don't eat it. It is also the state flower of South Dakota.

The Desert Peach

2011-04-21T13:14:00-04:00

Desert Peach (Prunus andersonii) is good choice for local xeric landscaping as it is a desert indigenous perennial for eastern California and western and central Nevada as far east as Eureka and Nye counties, and therefore completely adjusted to our climate. This slow growing deciduous perennial shrub belongs to the rose family and is actually related to the peach, cherry and almond trees we use as food producers. Although Native American populations considered the plant as medicinal, they also utilized the fruit as food and the twigs and leaves as tea, but for gardening and landscaping purposes, the plant is now mostly considered an ornamental.

Also called the Wild Almond, this lovely plant enjoys the full intensity of the desert sun. According to the United States Forest Service, the plant is "morphologically and physiologically adapted to drought conditions," which means it will accept low to moderate amounts of moisture to stay happy and healthy. The USDA also notes that the Desert Peach is a good choice for revegetation on disturbed land within its historical range. This makes the Desert Peach a good choice for rehabilitating local home sites that were cleared during construction.

Drycreek now has Desert Peach in stock in one gallon containers, making it easy to transplant. The plants have flower buds emerging for this year's springtime bloom. The wide flowers attract honeybees for pollination.

August Blooming Perennials -- Yarrow

2009-08-14T21:56:00-04:00

There's an ancient proverb that says people either love or hate Yarrow and that those who hate it are simply grouchy fools. A cranky gardener once commented that the reason why she hates yarrow is because it's "as common as the weeds in spring." Strangely, she loves and raves constantly about Nevada's Big Sage.

Yarrow comes in a variety of colors, from pure white to yellow, to pink and deep purple-red. The plants are amazing in that their blooms last for months, the plant will grow in just about any soil, they are very drought tolerant, and they can all but be forgotten and yet still thrive. But perhaps what is most incredible about Yarrow is that the flower stalks can tell the future.

It's true, the dried flower stems of Achillea Millefolium have been used for centuries as tools for consulting the oracle of the I Ching, what some say is the oldest and wisest book in the history of human culture. How the oracle works is anyone's guess, nevertheless, the ritual is fascinating and some say, curiously accurate in its telling. In any case, Yarrow is easy to grow, beautiful to look at and it smells sweet.

In western traditions, it is said that the reason why the botanical name references Achilles is because the Greeks used Yarrow medicinally to stop wounds from bleeding on the battlefield.

Mid-Summer Color And Maybe A Cure

2009-07-30T00:00:00-04:00

This picture shows two little flowers that are in bloom this week. The soft pink flowers on the left are late blooming Choral Bells (Heuchera) which many gardeners know and love. The maroon flowers on the right are less well known. They are from a little silver gray alpine geranium native to South Africa (pelargonium sidoides). For our area, this delightful plant behaves more like an annual than a perennial as it usually does not survive our winter weather. But it grows well in containers and can easily be brought indoors for protection from the coldest part of our winter freeze.

Another interesting thing about this beautiful little geranium is that it might be a natural cure for the common cold. In 2007, the National Center for Biotechnology Information reported on "a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial" which tested over one hundred men and women with cold symptoms. Randomly, patients were given either a placebo or a liquid herbal drug preparation made from the roots of pelargonium sidoides. The study concludes:

[The herbal drug] represents an effective treatment of the common cold. It significantly reduces the severity of symptoms and shortens the duration of the common cold compared with placebo.

Come to find out, the plant has been used as a medicine for centuries by the Zulu and several other African cultures, not only for curing colds, but for treating other more sever lung ailments, like bronchitis, sinus infections, and even pneumonia. (Of course, we do not recommend you try this at home.)

Remember: if you plant pelargonium sidoides in the ground, don't expect it to come back next year, although it might return, especially if it's in a protected place. Just don't count on it. It's worth growing, though, both for its beautifully textured silver leaves and for its unusual dainty deep purple flowers.