Comments on: Not Again‽

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 21:18:48 +0000

There are a lot of wildflowers that don’t require much water and go dormant rather than dying during droughts. Some will thrive on dew on the coast.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 04:53:15 +0000

Not to mention that there’s lots of cool plants out here with low water use. It doesn’t have to be just bare gravel. For example, various yucca are really cool looking, creosote adds color and odor, manzanita makes a very colorful shrub, mesquite is of course mesquite, and so forth. One thing to be aware of is that our climate isn’t 100% desert so some plants just won’t do too well. For example, my ice plants are doing really well because we’ve had such dry years the past three years, but a normally wet spring would make them be sickly and prone to rot. Meanwhile I just replaced one of my water-hungry plants with a Bougainvillea that’s already making masses of purple bracts just on overspray from the sprinklers…

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 00:17:42 +0000

Xeriscaping just makes sense in California and can be much more interesting than grass. If you are going to spend money on outdoor carpet resembling grass, why not make it obviously artificial, rather than wasting money on the fake grass version. Everyone is going to know it’s fake, so what’s the point?

I’m a fan of succulents like ice plant, Christmas and Easter cacti, etc. used with with sand and quartz pea gravel. The sand and pea gravel are light enough to reflect away a lot of the heat.

As for fruit trees, the pear trees the town planted across the street have beautiful flowers in the spring and bright red leaves in the fall, but they attract the wrong sort of critters when their sour fruit drops on the ground.

Both fruit and nut trees are, as Badtux points out water hogs.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 16:12:10 +0000

Fruit trees require a lot of water, Ellroon. To keep our lemon trees alive, we basically have to pour around 100 gallons of water on the things at least twice per month. You’re in a desert, so you’d be better off planting a mesquite tree. It requires watering once per month in mid-summer but less water.

By: ellroon

ellroon — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 07:52:08 +0000

In our town in Southern California we’re now on water rationing and our lawns are turning brown. Many neighbors have ripped up the grass and put in drought tolerant bushes and succulents. Another guy put the more expensive fake grass that will be forever green, never need mowing or weeding. Some have put in rock (lots of rocks.. we’re near the San Gabriel mountains), others chip. Chip is much more sensible, rock retains heat long after the sun goes down. One neighbor was in the midst of redesigning his yard and has just left it dirt.
I think I might just let the grass die a natural death and plant a fruit tree. But then the damned raccoons, possums, rats, squirrels, and mice will attack…..

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 03:51:22 +0000

Well, eating grubs, beetles, and tearing out lawns are just more reasons to like armadillos. Lawns are one of the primary causes of the pollution in the local bayous – the runoff from lawns with the toxic cocktail of fertilizer and pesticides. Grass is non-native and requires entirely too much water to grow here.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 01:51:58 +0000

They eat grubs and beetles too. The main problem with armadillos is that they’ll tear your yard to shreds. A family of armadillos grubbing for grubs will swiftly make your lawn into the Devil’s own golf course. Some people get annoyed that their lawn is no longer golf course perfect. Those people are annoying. But in the South, are also well-armed.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 17:08:20 +0000

As one of the commenters on the article pointed out, armadillo means small armored creature. I don’t understand why anyone would shoot one because they eat termites and ants. Unless you work for a chemical company or an exterminator it doesn’t make a lot of sense to kill a natural control on termites.

By: ellroon

ellroon — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 06:27:30 +0000

But… it was an animal! That dared defy the mighty manliness of macho Deadeye Pete!! Who had a gun! A real gun that shoots!! Which makes him even MORE MANLY!!111!
OMG! THE BRINGER OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION AND THE SCORCHING OF THE EARTH WITH HIS MIGHTY MANLY MACHO PHALLIC SYMBOL OF DOOOOOOM!!!!1111!\\

The armadillo armored up and splanged that bullet right back into Deadeye Pete’s face…