Hi,
I'm new here and I live in Eastern Washington where the annual rainfall is about 6.5 inch. It is considered a srub-steppe. Just so you get an idea of what it's like here I copied the following paragraph off the Washington Native Plant Society, Columbia Basin Chapter web-site.
The Columbia Basin has the driest climate in Washington. At the Hanford Reserve the average yearly precipitation is only 6.5 inches. As a consequence we enjoy a unique local flora. Other than in riparian zones we have no trees except for junipers on the dune fields east of Pasco. We do have distinct habitats defined by the soil types of sand, silt and lithosols. Within each soil type are numerous endemic species. Recent work by The Nature Conservancy (Hall, 1998) on the Hanford Reserve has produced a list of 30 vascular plant species that are species of concern. In the list are two species new to science (Eriogonum codium, Umtanum desert buckwheat and Lesquerella tuplashensis, White Bluffs bladderpod) and a new variety (Astragalus conjunctus var.rickardii, Basalt milk-vetch). The Columbia Basin is a botanically active region with more new species on the horizon.
I take it that those of you that are interested in Xeriscaping live in similar dry areas. Our local native plant society has a list of perennials, Shrubs, and Bunchgrass I'm working with and looking for. My question to you is, WHERE DOES ONE FIND SEEDS? Or am I limited to buying plants?
These are the Perennials I'm looking for:
Yarrow: Achillea millefolium
Munroe's globemallow: Sphaeralcea munroana
Camas: Camassia quamash
Thread-leaf daisy: Erigeron filifolius
Lenear-leaf daisy: Erigeron linearis
Showy penstemon: Penstemon venustus
Lance-leaved stonecrop: Sedum lanceolatum
Bitterroot: Lewisia rediviva
BUNCHGRASSES
Bluebunch wheatgrass: Pseudoroegneria spicata
Sandberg's bluegrass: Poa Secunda
Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides
Indian ricegrass: Achnatherum hymenoides
Needle and thread grass: Hesperostipa comata
Sand dropseed: Sporobolus cryptandrus
Idaho fescue: Festucan idahoensis
Basin wildrye: Leymus cinereus
I've got another list of Shrubs but I wouldn't give you those.
Do you know where I might find seeds to any of these? Do any of you use any of these plants in your landscaping?
Thanks for any bit of help you might give me.
A gal from Sagewood farm.
Are Xeriscape plants your native Plants?
Hello, living in the desert, I am definitely interested in xeriscaping and everything on my list of haves or wants is natives. I encountered the same problem you faced and ended up doing alot of research. I found that these two website offer great seeds.
JL Hudson Seedsman, offers a wide variety, not just xeriscape plants, but I think he has most of what you are looking for.
www.jlhudsonseeds.net
I've found that this place is entirely natives and xeriscape seeds.
www.plantsofthesouthwest.com
http://www.americanmeadows.com/bulk_ind.cfm this site got me all I needed for my Montana dry meadow. It has good description of what to do to plant and what to expect. I got a lot of what you are looking for
Wow, only 6.5", that's even less than what I get. I'll add a couple more of the site's that I've used in addition to the ones listed. Hope these help.
Western Native Seed
http://www.westernnativeseed.com/
High Altitude Gardens or Seed Trust
http://www.seedstrust.com/has/highaltitudeseeds.html
Rocky Mountain Rare Plants
http://www.rmrp.com/
Alplains - This site isn't set up for ordering seed yet but you can order a catalogue.
http://www.alplains.com/
There's a great little company in Gardnerville, Nevada called Comstock Seed that carries a lot of natives and drought tolerant cultivars. Their website links don't seem to be working properly at the moment but the email address on the home page should work. http://www.comstockseed.com/index.html http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/753/
Ed has native wildflower mixes or he will make one to your specifications, or just send each kind in separate packets.
I like that bewaterwise.com website because it has a native and xeriscape plants encyclepedia with pictures,descriptions etc. and home pix with a lot of creative uses and so forth.