My Calgary, Alberta Desert Garden

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Hi All,

After much toil and sweat, I have completed my xeriscape desert garden! I'm very pleased with the results and getting lots of positive comments from neighbours and people passing by. Here's a look:

The before: boring, sunbaked, hardpan lawn.


The after: desert garden oasis!


My yucca corner: which includes bacatta, brevifolia, rostrata and filamentosa. Check out the needle palm in the background too!


Despite recent highs around 15c or 60f, and lows around freezing, my y. filamentosa has begun to flower!. Sometimes instant gratification is worth the price (5 gallon plant for $59.99)!




Happy little Med Fan Palm


Here's one of my one-year-old (from seed) joshua trees in the garden


A must for any Alberta xeriscape-the endemic yucca glauca (there are two in my garden so far-one gallon plants purchased this spring)


I've all kinds of cactus-opuntia, Echinocereus, Escobaria. Here's one of my bigger opuntia (supposedly hardy to zone 4-I'm skeptical though) starting to form new growth despite three consecutive nights around freezing!. Will have more to show as they hopefully flower!


That's all for now-thanks for checking it out. Happy zone-pushing everyone!

Duncan

[DesertZone]

That is awesome! looks amazing!

[BILL MA]

Duncan,
What a terrific transformation to your yard! Very well done, your selection is really good too.

Keep us posted through out the season for sure.

Bill

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Hey Duncan that looks great. A true desert look in Calgary. Maybe it will catch on when they are alive next spring. Thanks for the pics.


John

[ROBRETI]

Hi Duncan,

Congrats, it is so beautiful!!!!
Rob

[Jay-Admin]

Looks good Duncan.

-Jay

[Paul Ont]

Good stuff! Plenty of room for new plants too...

[hardyjim]

Love what you've done with the yard.

The desertscape is beautiful.
Cactus really are so much easier to care for
than all the palms and grow/ flower more than most realize!

[lucky1]

Duncan, very impressive.
Looks like a landscape company designed it.

Nice needle...and med fan too, look very healthy.

Congrats on that nice Joshua from seed, well done.

Now drink that beer, you deserve it.
Sit back and watch the neighbours duplicate what you've done.

Barb

OOPS, meant to add that my Y.filamentosa isn't blooming yet, not even shoots stretching! Crazy you're ahead of me!

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Thanks so much everybody! Very happy with the results. It's been really cool to receive positive feedback from neighbours and people passing the house.

Barb, I must confess that my filamentosa was ready to bloom when I bought it at the garden store 2 weeks ago

Jim, I can't believe the progress many of my cacti have made in far less than ideal conditions!

Duncan

[nlafrance3]

Duncan,

Where did you get all your different yuccas? It looks good!

[Jova]

Duncan, the yard looks excellent! Great layout, very well thought-out. I look forward to hearing how your med. fan palm does, because if you can grow it up there, chances are that I have nothing to worry about with mine:)

Eric

[sidpook]

Very Nice, love desert plants...

[hardyjim]

I don't think most people realize how many varieties of hardy cactus there are and
how fast they grow are there would be a lot more people trying them.

That Opuntia will need will to be bone dry to have any chance,it looks like the same kind I had.
Don't water it or let it get any water after Sept 1,in the mean time you can water away.

Next year when it's roots are better established/more efficient this will be critical to it's survival.

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Hi Guys!

Thanks for the nice feedback guys!

I look forward to hearing how your med. fan palm does, because if you can grow it up there, chances are that I have nothing to worry about with mine:)

Eric: The Med. Fan looks great despite lots of cold and rainy weather. Without fairly elaborate protection though, this plant is a goner at some point in late fall, early winter. My plan is only to enjoy it for as long as possible before it succumbs. It was a fairly cheap purchase and I don't really have room to bring it in this winter. I will rescue my bigger (approx. 7 gallon) Needle palm however which is in a pot, in the ground. Happy growing in IN! With a climate like yours, I'd definitely start to think about ways to overwinter hardy palms. In my climate, it's really borderline insanity! I'm not quite willing to say the same yet for some of the hardier yucca species though!

Where did you get all your different yuccas? It looks good!

nlafrance3:

Thanks! The yuccas came from various sources over the last few years.

yucca glaucas: local growers (native to Alberta, where I reside)
yucca brevifolia: grown from seed, by me, from an American seed source
yucca filimentosa: local nursery
yucca bacatta and rostrata: mail ordered from Broadway Gardens (Botanix now, I think) in St. Catherines, Ontario.

I don't think most people realize how many varieties of hardy cactus there are and
how fast they grow are there would be a lot more people trying them. That Opuntia will need will to be bone dry to have any chance,it looks like the same kind I had. Don't water it or let it get any water after Sept 1,in the mean time you can water away. Next year when it's roots are better established/more efficient this will be critical to it's survival.

Jim: Agreed on the hardiness of cactus. There are numerous Canadian species that I know of (several of which are in my garden)-which really says it all about their hardiness. One of my opuntia is from Saskatchewan, which means it can withstand 100f or -40f quite happily. Glad I can water away now, because I've had no choice with our weather!

Very Nice, love desert plants... icon_cool.gif

Thanks Mike! Nice work in NJ! Wish I had your temps.! Maybe not the humidity though!

Take Care everybody and happy zone-pushin'!

Duncan