Low-Water Gardens for the Panhandle

Find the local alternative to gravel scapes, using plants that love our alkaline clay. Understand options to concentrate runoff for plants or supplement with simple graywater systems.

Open: Creating Dryland Gardens 8 pp., 800 kB

Open: Plants for Dryland Gardens 12 pp., 650 kB

Download: Texas Panhandle Garden Planner excel file, 43 kB

Regenerative Wetlands

Undamaged playas are critical to recharge our aquifer. Specific plants indicate healthy playas, although it is hard to add plants back into the playa soil seed reserve. Can nearby donor garden patches contribute? Explore records of playa plant diversity recorded at different locations.

Fire-Wise Research

Critical for those near open land on the WUI (wildland-urban interface): the latest laboratory research into plant flammability informs short how-to brochures and a full list of >400 plants.

Which plants flame high or barely catch?

Can I follow best safety practices without stripping my yard bare? What extra protection measures are possible?

Open: How-to-Plant Firewise 10 pp, 2 MB 

Open: Flammability Levels of TX Panhandle Plants, 46 pp., 1.4 MB

Wildscapes/ Native Plants

Gardens can include plants that support and attract local butterflies, birds, and small animals. Farms with strips of native forbs for pollinators reduce winds and increase crop yields. Ranches can host more doves, quail and deer. But to reach any of these goals, design must be driven by biology.  

Design Examples

Past projects include desert ecosystems and rich forests, including subdivisions, new residences and zoning variances. Garden design is sculpting  outdoor space to meld social needs with the realities of wind, rain and sun.

Portfolio Page