Lots of scent and color for little water
In a time of drought, it certainly sounds reasonable to select species for your garden that require little, if any, water. Many of these species fit into the succulent plant category, which includes cactuses, of course, but many other groups of plants as well. Nearly all of them are suitable not only for installation in the garden but for display in containers, too, whether kept outdoors on the patio or balcony or maintained indoors as houseplants.
One notion that needs to be set aside is that succulents, although drought-tolerant, are not to be recommended for fragrance or long-term flowering capacity. Plumeria, for one, possesses both of these qualities. Its highly fragrant flowers may be found expanding in any season, but show a solid bloom that starts in spring and may continue deep into the fall. Plumeria rubra, the species most commonly planted — whose varieties include flowers in a kaleidoscope of colors and bicolors — does go deciduous in winter but will often start putting out new flowers in early spring, even before leaves again appear. As for watering, in its early years, a good soaking every week or two in summer will be needed, but as a plumeria puts on growth and begins to assume tree-like proportions, even less water is required.
The limiting factor to plumeria growth is cold, and small, immature plants are much more sensitive than mature and established specimens. Small plants must be wrapped in canvas or festooned with Christmas lights to
increase ambient heat when a cold night is forecast, although the duration of cold is more significant than temperature; if the temp dips to 32 degrees but only stays there briefly, your plumeria may suffer minor frost burn and nothing more. If you live in a colder climate, keep your plumeria in a container and move it into your garage when winter weather comes. Stop watering it until warmer temperatures prevail and you can bring it back outside.
A number of cactuses produce fragrant flowers, and these invariably bloom at night. Each is referred to, here or there, as a nightblooming cactus. One cactus of this description is Hylocereus, known as pitaya, a dragon fruitbearing cactus. The other fragrant night bloomers include orchid cactus (Epiphyllum hybrids), appropriate for outdoor planters and containers kept out of direct sun, as well as indoors when exposed to bright light, whose floppy stems are thoroughly nondescript. Hedgehog or Easter lily cactus (Echinops hybrids) have thorny, classic cactus stems and an upright growth habit. On young plants, hedgehog cactus flowers are so large and prolific that they
completely cover the stems. Both orchid and hedgehog cactus may be found with huge flowers that bloom in every color except blue. Last but not least, there is apple cactus (Cereus peruvianus), the best-known night bloomer, with its tall, bluish-green stems and round pink or red fruit, which are quite edible. Night-blooming cactuses of all types are famously pollinated by bats and moths.
As for long-blooming succulents, three immediately come to mind. Crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii) boasts perpetual red, pink, yellow or white bracts every day of the year without exception. Bracts are actually leaf-type structures — also clearly seen on the related poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) — that surround a yellow flower center known as a cyathium. While Euphorbia milii only grows 2-3 feet tall, Euphorbia splendens can reach 6 feet. The most stunning crown of thorns are the Thai hybrids, which also grow tall. Their bracts are much showier than what you find on the previously mentioned, more widely available types.
Two other long-blooming succulents are florist kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) and flower
dust plant (Kalanchoe pumila). You can find florist kalanchoe at your supermarket’s flower department throughout the year. Flower colors are yellow, orange, blush, pink, red and violet. Often, the flowers have a shape of little interest, but certain varieties’ blooms are doppelgangers for tiny roses. Given half a day’s sun or even less, florist kalanchoe will flower outdoors for six months straight. As for flower dust plant, I saw a huge swath of it at the Getty Center Garden years ago. Whenever I visited, its pink flowers were showing off brilliantly against a background of soft gray foliage.
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Anne Minder, who gardens on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, emailed as follows:
“At the start of pandemic lockdowns, I cleaned out my rose garden. It had developed so many weeds over the years that I pulled, and I literally sifted through the soil by hand to get rid of as much of the weed roots as humanly possible while retaining all of the rose bushes.
“I then planted thyme from ground cover flats. It has done so well! It filled in completely within about 4 months. It requires very low water, that’s why I chose it to begin with. I water it every one or two weeks for 10-15 minutes. The roses are also very low in their water requirement, something many people don’t understand.
I’m a California native plant gardener but there aren’t many native ground cover choices that don’t need to be mowed, aren’t bunchgrasses, aren’t spikey, etc.
“The thyme has taken some foot traffic much better than the dymondia (a prostrate, matlike ground cover) I have elsewhere but I’m not sure how it would do with kids. This garden is southfacing, so not sure how it would do north-facing. I am within one mile of the coast. I hope this helps your readers.”
Although thyme, especially creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), is touted as a durable ground cover that can absorb moderate foot traffic, it seems to establish with difficulty. I therefore take my hat off to you for your successful effort. I think two factors may explain your success. First, you are near the coast. Plants that enjoy ocean proximity — where winter cold and summer heat are moderated — will be less stressed than in other locales. Second, weed pulling and soil sifting have created a well-aerated soil as well as excellent drainage, conditions most conducive to plant growth.