Turning Dry Sites into a Garden

By DoItYourself.com Staff

If you happen to have a dry sun-parched site, don't think that you will never be able to turn it anything more than a rock garden. There are a number of ways to tackle the task.

Buy the Right Plants

The easiest solution is to match the plants to the site. Drought tolerant plants are found among annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Some of these plants do well in poor soil and may even prefer it, so you may want to consider this before making any improvements to the soil. When you are ready to plant, you might find that digging through hard, dry soil makes you feel like you're trying to go through cement. Watering the site a couple of days before planting can solve this problem.

Even though these plants are considered resilient, you will find that they will need regular watering for the first couple of years, but once they establish their root systems they can rely on nature's watering schedule. Most importantly, put a layer of mulch around your plants. Mulch keeps in moisture and adds nutrients.

Improve the Soil

If you have decided on plants that like a richer soil, adding compost will improve conditions. You can avoid some extra work if you get started in the early spring. This is the ideal time to add compost because you can allow the worms or other organisms to work it down into the soil for you. However, if you want to start planting sooner, you will need to mix in the compost yourself. The more organic matter in your soil, the more moisture it will hold.

Install Soaker Hoses

Soaker hoses can make watering simple and change that dry site into a more habitable place. Instead of moving hoses from garden to garden all summer long, buy enough soaker hoses to water all your beds and leave them in place all season long. They will allow water to drip slowly into the soil. Snake them through beds in the spring and cover them with mulch. This way you'll only have to turn on the spigot; however, it's all so all too easy to forget you turned it on. As they say, out of sight out of mind, and this leads to the risk of over watering. Using a timer to turn the water on and off can make this a really low-maintenance garden. Be sure everyone knows about your hoses or else you might find a family member accidentally raking over a hose.

Build a Shelter

Planting trees can provide a long-term solution for a too-sunny site, but what if you want immediate relief? Building a shelter is one way to reduce the sun's rays. You can create an easy shade structure by weaving vines and branches into a bower. Depending on the location, you might want to set up a fence. Use vigorous climbing vines such as Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) or five-leaf akebia (Akebia quinata). They will move up the posts quickly to add the shade you need.

Whichever way you decide to handle your dry site, you'll soon find that you turned that dust-bowl into a beautiful garden.

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