Hi GPODers!
No garden is without challenges and obstacles, but some locations certainly make gardening more complicated than others. Your property—the amount of space you have, the number of mature trees in and around your landscape, the quality of your soil, and so on—also plays a major role in the ease of creating and maintaining a garden. However, today’s post is a prime example that no set of conditions can stop a determined gardener from creating an enviable outdoor space. Ryan Harter in Castle Rock, Colorado (Zone 5b), contends with climate extremes but embraces the rugged rock gardens of the Mountain West to create stunning displays. His home garden is a marvelous collection of color and fascinating, drought-tolerant plants that prove his challenging conditions don’t require any compromise on beauty. To see even more of Ryan’s spectacular space, check him out on Instagram: @thexericgarden.
This garden began as a typical suburban Colorado lot and has gradually evolved into a dense, drought-tolerant planting filled with texture and long-season interest. Gardening in Castle Rock means designing for extremes: intense sun, temperature swings, and heavy spring snow. I focus on resilient perennials such as penstemon, salvia, nepeta, ice plants, yarrow, dwarf conifers, and many more, woven through native and adapted grasses that provide structure and movement. The garden is layered tightly to reduce water use and suppress weeds while still creating a lush appearance. It is both a personal experiment in climate-adapted planting and a space meant to inspire others gardening in similar high-plains conditions. The garden contains over 200 varieties of plants.
Drought-tolerant wonderland
Native-ish planting
Fall garden
Another view of Ryan’s incredible landscape in fall. Small clumps of grasses are little pops of color and texture among the many low-growing plants.
Spring garden
Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous garden with us, Ryan! I’m certain your landscape has inspired many readers to view drought-tolerant and water-wise landscapes in a whole new light.
What challenges do you face in your garden, and what plant selections or design choices help you overcome the obstacles to create something beautiful? Let us know in the comments, or consider sharing photos of your garden with the blog. Follow the NEW directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!
We want to see YOUR garden!
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, fill out the Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form.
You can also send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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