Xeriscapes, Xerces Society, Xerotic Eczema (Xerosis), and Xanadu

A to Z Challenge submission for the Letter X on the In Living Color Publication

Echium pininana, San Francisco Botantical Gardens in June 2023. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

Xeriscape

A xeriscape is an environment that does not need much water. Oxford Language Dictionaries defines it as:

“a style of landscape design requiring little or no irrigation or other maintenance, used in arid regions.”

With trips to the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, Pacific Northwest, and mountainous regions of the Carribean within the last ten years, I’ve seen plenty of xeriscapes.

Surprisingly, some of my favorite plants are perfect for xeriscaping.

Yucca, sedums, Johnson’s Blue Geraniums, Ecchinaea, and Rudbeckia qualify for xeriscaping plants. You might not think of those plants but rather the hardy, heat, and arid-tolerant plants of the Southwestern deserts.

Succulents abound in the Bay area of California. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

Narrow Leafed Century Plant. Agave striata, Sedona AZ. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2021