No henna's not edible (silly me) just useful.. Michael at Edible Plant Project in Gainesville added these to the list though avocado (some cold-hardy Mexican kinds) feijoa natal plum yuca (cassava) roselle jujube bael fruit (not sure where to get this one. let me know if you find it) citrus (all kinds)* pears other than hood are also good Ximenia americana native huckleberry persimmon (native and Asian varieties) macadamia Moringa pigeon pea winged sumac wild onions cowpeas and Vicky from Neem Tree Farms in Ocala added Chaya and Jewels of Opar I'd also like to add Aloe

Andrew ... If I till up the grass and shovel out the sod, is regrowth of the grass going to be a big issue since I'd be tearing out the roots anyways? It depends on the kind of grass. Those that spread by underground rhizomes (Bermuda and a few others) are likely to regrow from chunks of rhizomes. And if you don't patrol the area and remove all the survivors for a couple of growing seasons, they will re-establish. The rhizomes are the drought and overgrazing survival strategy - despite the name, Bermuda grass is an African savannah grass and has to deal with 6 months of no rain and being grazed by bazillions of migrating wildebeests and gnus. Making the switch to Buffalo Grass, we used a sod-cutter to remove the lawn, then tilled in compost and fertilizers and raked out grass roots and rhizomes before plugging the buffalo grass in ... and still had regrowth. We should have spent a lot more time - perhaps all summer - on getting the Bermuda killed off. I confess my errors here: http://lazygardens.blogspot.com/2009/08/watching-grass-grow-week-20-confessing.html Solarizing deeply enough to kill Bermuda's rhizomes will damage the surface roots of any trees and shrubs in that area, possible stunting or killing the greenery. The rhizomes are usually in the top 6 inches of soil, as are the tree and shrub's feeder roots. I had a client who refused to use "chemicals" like I advised and solarized around her bushes instead ... she killed quite a few by cooking the roots. My approach - leaving the dead grass to decompose under the new planting - creates open channels where the decomposed roots used to be. Lazy aerating. :) I think of it as a cover crop. zensojourner - Where do you live that Bermuda grass is so easy to kill? I use a lot of glyphosate because I clear out weed-infested landscapes and Bermuda lawns for a living/hobby, converting them to xeriscapes and lower maintenance landscapes. In the dusty desert SW, wind-blown weed seeds are ubiquitous and omnipresent and we have three weed-sprouting seasons (spring, monsoon and early winter) to deal with. Some of the seeds can persist in the soil for 10+ years and then sprout. Roundup and all its kin are contact herbicides. You are incorrect. Glyphosate is a systemic herbicide, not a contact herbicide. It translocates to the roots and kills the plant from the roots up. The problem with Bermuda is that it has such a huge underground component it's hard to get it all in the first application. You can improve the kill by having several inches of lush growth to spray, but in most of its range it takes two or more applications. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate Brand name really does not matter, glyphosate is glyphosate is glyphosate. You have been misinformed. The current brand-name "Roundup" added a knock-down contact herbicide to the formula (read the label) because homeowners are impatient to see weeds shrivel ... it's not necessary. So I use the generic single herbicide. =========== And about that Rodale study: "Researchers tested four combinations of Roundup on cultured human cells" and blah,blah,blah .... Cell cultures are fragile. You can kill or damage them by adding almost anything that disrupts their unprotected cell membranes. Try adding 20% acetic acid, the commonly used "organic" herbicide and see how fast they die. Even baking soda can kill them or damage them. Here is a link that might be useful: Bermuda images

tfswest, I would not trust the water company site info. Our water company had such glaring errors that I wrote them a letter. I never received a reply and they didn't change the page info for many months (at a planned site redesign). A few examples of their errors: --They recommended a plant I had never heard of and wasn't listed in any plant books for this region, much less seen in any nursery. I looked it up online, and discovered it was a native creek-side woodlands plant from the southeast portion of the United States. It didn't even appear to be sold in eastern US nurseries. --The wild lilac (ceanothus) recommendation showed a photo of a Syringa vulgaris cultivar/French hybrid lilacs, a completely different and unrelated species. in fact, they aren't even in the same plant family! --Three other plants listed require regular watering; they were not normally considered drought tolerant by gardeners. --At least one recommendation was listed on CA's invasive plant list, and the state discourages it being grown in gardens. --Two would have probably required a mail order purchase, because they are not generally offered through the nurseries and garden centers here. And one of those liked winter chill--not something generally expected to a sufficient degree in south OC. The two site pages only listed about 16-18 plants total, so there were problems with the majority of their recommendations. I would have given their info an "F" grade.

Rocks help with drainage. Do you have a lot of clay . If you are wanting too do xeric there you will near to build up mounds of dirt . Yuccado and Peckerwood gardens who are in Hemphill texas ( not far from you) starts their mounds with rock and construction trash like bits of concrete ; river rock and then they do a thick mixture of 1/3 native soil 1/3 decomposed granite; 1/3 compost. and then cover with the 2" of gravel mulch. You should visit Peckerwood gardens to see their choice of plants. This area does get more rain than further west but they get it in huge down pours all at once and then they can get long dry spells and humid heat in-between the floods I have a friend who made just a huge addition of sand and compost above her clay. It was a huge commitment. Everyone thought she was crazy because adding sand to clay makes concrete. She only mixed a bit of her soil into it .Mostly she mounded it on top. Peckerwood Gardens Now the .John Fairey Garden is a huge resource and unfortunately now closed due to the plague. Yuccado is also closed but forever.