On that cold overcast day in January 2009 when landscaping design opportunities were being discussed, Hillary was inspired to re-work the flower bed at our west-side back door.

Site Characteristics

1. This flower bed gets the hot afternoon sun.
2. 16 inch annual precipitation (Foothills).
3. Soil is a silt-loam with good water holding capacity.
4. Soil has been supplemented recently with organic matter.

Ideas to Guide the Project

1. Want one perennial or another blooming from May through August.
2. Want just lower growing perennials and grasses.
3. No shrubs to grow out over the walk that have to be pruned.
4. We are going to lower the elevation of the soil a couple inches so that it does not spill over onto the brick walk.
5. We can easily supplement with hand watering if one or the other native species looks too dry in the summer, or we could put a small sprinkler in the bed and water it once a month if need be.  The hot afternoon sun reflecting off the house creates a much drier spot and we know we will have to irrigate these mostly Mountain plants in our Foothills location. 
6. Because the area is small, Hillary plans to control weeds with hand weeding.

Estimated Plant Quantity	Native Species	Plant Type
3	Festuda ovina Sheep Fescue	grass
9	Psuedoroegneria spicata Bluebunch Wheatgrass	grass
9	Eriophyllum lanatum Oregon Sunshine	perennial
6	Monardella odoratissima	perennial
5	Penstemon davidsonii Davidson’s Penstemon	perennial
6	Penstemon eatonii Firecracker Penstemon	perennial
6	Penstemon venustus Blue Mt. Penstemon	perennial
44	Total Plants

Check back in a couple months to see the progress on Hillary’s Westside Welcome naturescaping project.

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