Help my hill

Well, what can I say. I like my patch and it does spread, but not all that much and it is nice and green and holds the soil.

I'm sorry, Paj... I didn't mean that as a slap... :( I bet yours is a much nicer variety than what we have here! Or maybe the scrub oak we have here is, I don't know... grumpier than yours?

our scrub oak has scrubs jays, and is an endangered habitat. That alone makes it great in my book.

You can see exactly what it looks like in that wikipedia link. I like it, but I don't require that everyone do so!

I like scrub oak though it wouldn't work in my small yard (I need a shoehorn to add things, as it is). The roots might help with curbing erosion on Susanne's hill--and the fall color would be nice. I can understand that some don't care for it in their yards (most of us don't have erosion troubles like those on the hill in question). It might be something to consider, Artn?

I doubt if any plant is universally hated, or loved. I heard that the early American pioneers brought dandelion seeds with them from the east!

I don't know why scrubs are so thick only a few miles from me (we're covered with elms); at least Susanne can find plenty of live examples of these, and even dig up as many as she'd want. Maybe even get paid for it... :P

I like my oak, but it came with the house and I never had to give it a moment's thought. I am not sure if it weren't a natural patch. But it has a little bench made of flag stone in it and feels very private even though it is close to the house. But yes, it is everywhere.
I also have a mountain mahogany in my vacant lot. I like it also. It has little screw shaped seed pods which I think are adorable. It is a native plant and seems to be able so survive even the worst droughts.
I am not actually great about landscaping with natives, but I like having some around. For no care plants, you can't beat them. They just aren't showy like, say, irises or hydrangeas.

or dahlias ^_^

I realized that I got completely triggered when I read scrub oaks... wow!

When I was a single mom, I rented a house that had a huge patch of them, and my two boys and I spent several exhausting weekends every year pulling volunteers out of the lawn and flagstone patio. When I bought a house with my ex-fiance' on Oak Hills, I had several nightmares about the neighbors showing up with torches and pitchforks, as our yard was by far the worst on the street.

We all had the same large stands of scrubs (although one neighbor tried or threatened to burn his out), but it seemed like ours was the messiest, and had the most volunteers invading the beds I tried to cultivate.

OMG! I started this post last night, and asked my DH to drive by that house this morning. That yard is a MESS again!! I am so bummed! The only thing left (other than the oaks... snicker) are some nepeta and a couple sorry looking grasses. And of course the standard fare shrubs. Even the shasta daisies are gone.

Well, thanks ya'll, for helping me get in touch with my inner child that still battles not feeling good enough... :D Compared to that wreck, my new yard ROCKS!

Interesting reading of all your different gardens.

I have lived in this desert area of WA all my long life, and have had to irrigate constantly as we receive maybe 7 to 8 inches of moisture a year including snow. I use mostly soaker hoses and a couple of sprinklers. Lots of compost and my own shreds from prunings. Last year PUD dumped three loads of their shreds/prunings, which are being slowly used.

I moved to this location 13 years ago, nothing but sagebrush and grass then. Here are acouple of pictures.

That is a photo of the north bank of my yard. Here is a picture of the same bank further east, where i plan to replant iris this summer.

DonnaS

Beautiful Donna,
Love the use of low, creeping juniper. You are an incredible gardener.

That is very pretty. Looks so peaceful.

aThanks paj, not sure that is true when I walk around yard this time of year and see all the lovely weeds. But am managing to keep most of it green. I pull China Lettuce and other succulent weeds and give to the chickens and my one guinea guy, they appreciate the greenery until I let them out late afternoon to do their own foraging.

Donna

So pretty Donna. Is that really creeping juniper all the way down that hill? I wouldn't have ever figured that out, thanks paja. :) I had no idea there was anywhere in WA that was arid, who knew!

Yes, art, you too could use creeping juniper on your hill. too! It would take a bit of water, but not a huge amount. It doesn't grow fast!

Interesting, I hadn't thought of junipers...though I didn't know a low growing one existed. I think I like it a lot better than the taller one, which kind of gives me nightmares.
Karen, I know what you mean about the scrub oaks around here. Across Centennial from here is scrub oak heaven (or hell however you look at it hehe). Beautiful half a million dollar homes that you can't see because they're hidden by groves of them, seems kinda funny. But now I know why, after you all have talked about how hard they are to move.
At any rate, I don't especially like the look of them. But if nothing else will grow, I may have to give in.

What do you all think about planting a Mahonia repens? I got an itty bitty one for a buck the other day, turns out it's drought tolerant. I don't know anything about them though.

They like some shade around here.

I have no problem with Mahonia repens. Greenjay isn't too big on it, as I recall. I think mahonia is very attractive. It is drought resistant but may need some water. It spreads just like junipers. It is sharp and prickly but you probably won't want to go up there all that much anyhow. It would probably do the job --- you would probably want lots of clumps of it, which GJ may have to give you.

The mahonia we have was supposed to be a ground cover but prefers to be more of a shrub. It is sure stickery and It would be a great burglar barrier if planted under windows. Which ours is not.

Mahonia **is** stickery. The Mahonia repetens is low to the ground. If you need to pass through it you will get stuck. Greenjay calls the one that was planted all around her place -- the repetens variety "anklebiter" as I recall. But it might work well on art's hill because she doesn't go up there much. There were many pots of it for sale cheap at the first DBG sale I went to. It might be more pleasant to plant low growing junipers. They can be lovely and some only grow about 6 inches high. Those probably cost more than mahonia, though.

the mahonia has nice smelling flowers early in the spring, and the blue berries are good for the wildlife. The leaves are so sharp you might consider putting them out as burgler deterrent under ground floor windows. It is also difficult to remove once it has spread.

art n garden, More than half of WA state is arid, water is very important here. Because of the water generated by Grand Coulee Dam, now there is more water available.

The juniper on the bank is Wiltonii, planted in 1996. A few weeds and grass grow thru it and do have to be hand pulled.

Donna