The Libra's Front Xeriscape garden

I’ve been working on the front yard for about 3 years now, tweaking here and there, and over the last 2 years I’ve been working towards xeriscaping (no or low water maintenance). We get a harsh afternoon sun that bakes the holy heck out of our poor plants, and very little rain, so anything I choose to plant, I’ve got to either pick a hearty drought-tolerant plant, or pick my shade-spots very carefully.

Most of the front of the house is lined with Japanese Box Shrub (Buxus japonica), which is surprisingly hearty for its rich green color. They’ve been there, along with two Crepe Myrtles (Lagerstroemia X faurei), since we bought the house. There used to be some sort of big nasty mass of ivy-like groundcover near the front door, but I pulled all that up, layed down a ground-cloth, flagstone, and built a wall-garden to cultivate two honeysuckle vines (Lonicera X?) in hopes that it will grow up, and across an open-trellis, to provide some shade on the front door, which heats up to skin-burning temperature during the evening. I figure another year or two’s growth should just about do it.

My next project was two plant some rose bushes. Considering the conditions, I went with some extremely hearty Knock-Outs (Rosa hybrida ‘Radcon’) and Belinda’s Dream (Rosa Hybrida ’Belinda’s Dream), which have done wonderfully well and required no more maintenance than the occasional dead-heading. After that, I added a Japanese Red Pistache tree (Pieris japonica), which has survived quite well, when all previous attempts (including Live Oak) died.

My most recent additions are an Agave Century Plant (Agave americana), which is thriving happily, and two spotted Aloe Vera plants (A. vera var. chinensis). Lastly is a sad little Italian Oregano, a bit of a mistake. We’d meant to plant Golden Oregano (Origanum vulgare var. Aureum), but the wrong plant got delivered by mistake. I planted it anyway, but it’s dying a slow, miserable death. The Golden variety should be far more able to withstand the drought conditions and spread as a pleasant groundcover.

Lastly, I’ve recently expanded the garden border-bricking outward to accommodate further growth, as the previous position has been grown over the last year or so.

Future plans include lining the shady sides of the house with various herbs, spices, and veg that require lots of shade to really propagate (I could use some suggestions here), and more Agave plants, and other xeriscaping plants surrounding the base of the Japanese Red Pistache tree.