Coming up with water efficient ways to replace lawn is a pretty popular subject right now, and I did a little search to try to find you some useful pages. http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/lose-the-lawn-low-water-landscaping-00400000041830/page21.html http://www.the-landscape-design-site.com/xeriscaping.html I second the suggestion for brick and or rocks, I love rocks in a garden - they never die and they don't need any water, deer won't eat them, dogs can pee on them without doing any damage, and they are beautiful. Plus, rocks make a great habitat for predatory critters like lizards and garden snakes.

You know, there is a garden company here called "High Country Gardens", and even though you probably can't order from them, you can go to their website and check out their plant list. The reason I recommend them is because they are located in the desert, and for that reason they carry mostly xeriscapic plants (mostly perennials, also shrubs and some trees). I don't live in the desert, and I am still a fan of many of the plants they carry. Perhaps when you find plants you like on the site, you can seek them out where you live. One thing I like about them is that they specify which plants are especially drought resistent. Sometimes, there are plants that I didn't think could be xeric (like Iris pallida variegata). Don't let the term xeric scare you, as they have MANY plants that would blend beautifully into a cottage garden. My favorites: Gaura Perovskia Echinacea Salvias Agastaches Lamb's Ears Dianthus LAVENDER Iris pallida variegata Desert Willow tree Bush Sunflowers and others... Hope this helps!

Thanks for the picture of the package...they have definitely screwed up the name...you have Hedychium gardnerianum, the Kahili ginger. The blooms are said to resemble the feather-covered staffs carried before the Hawaiian king. Unfortunately, it has turned out to reproduce quickly from seed and is now a terribly invasive plant in Hawaii, quickly covering the ground with rhizomes that smother out any competition. Groups of concerned citizens get together to try and kill huge swaths of it. However, not so here in Indiana. I can't grow it in the ground, but I have a smaller form, H. gardnerianum compactum and a larger form, H. garderianum 'Monster Kahili'. Interestingly enough, some of the fast 'monsters' are the best for me in pots because they grow quickly enough to bloom for me in our short, but tropical, summers. In fact, my 'Monster Kahili' has two stalks with bracts on them, but compactum is taking its own sweet time growing much at all. I'm quite certain that 'gardnerianum' is what you have...two characteristics set it apart. Most of the bracts open blooms at the same time, making it look like a pompom (many hedychiums open several blooms up and down the stem at different times), and it has red stamens. Many other yellows are more concolorous. As far as care, it takes average care as far my plants have demonstrated....I don't know how cold you get in the winter, but if you get frost, it will die to the ground. I'd cut it back and mulch it. If it's in half-day sun, as you said, and you give it sufficient water, it should shoot out of the ground next spring. If this was its first year, hedychiums don't really like being dug up and stored like dahlias. They especially dislike being dried out in a plastic bag in a store. That explains your slow start this year. However, you did get growth, so it now has roots and has plumped up. I bet it will do great next year. If you look for images of this one by name on the internet, there are many forms and hybrids from it. Some are more narrow-petaled, some shorter, some more orange or paler yellow, etc., so don't expect them all to look exactly like yours. Gardnerianum is one of my favorites...it's the first ginger I ever owned and I bloomed it in a large pot, which was actually a kitchen wastebasket. It's very fragrant and I hope it performs well for you. Bob

Hello everyone, I am seeking varieties of perennial plants that would work well in a drought tolerant cottage garden. Preferably the plants would be long flowering (6+ months) and easily cloned via cuttings. So far my list looks a little slim. Currently I have: 3 Varieties of lavender Seaside Daisy Blue Marguerite Daisy Cigar Plant Wild Iris Violet Cuphea Lantana-Spanish Flag These are to be interplanted with long lived/flowering annuals like alyssum, california poppy, snapdragons and nasturtiums and a few interesting but non-flowering/short flowering perennials. I was wondering if anyone might be able to suggest some other drought tolerant and long-flowering perennials to go with those mentioned above. Thanks in advance everyone