Creation of a Desert Alpine Garden in Texas

[Lori S.]

Whew, I'm exhausted just looking at the size of those rocks!  It's really shaping up, Rino!

[RickR]

I'm glad you though about other people open car doors on the street.  Few people would have the forethought.  You might also want to think about what the snowplower would... nevermind  

On a separate note: with the rain pattern you have of getting deluged with water when you get it, does anyone ever make rain gardens down there?  It's become the garden in vogue at the moment up here.  Put simply, a rain garden is a low area that temporarily catches natural water runoff so it can seep into the ground naturally and replenish ground moisture, rather than going into the storm sewer.  It is planted with appropriate perennials (usually).

[Manfroni]

I have never heard of a rain garden, but it sounds like a good idea... at least in theory... I wonder what kind of plants I could grow that withstand a lot of rain one day in the Spring followed by 100F heat the day after here in Texas! Then they will also have to be tough enough to go through the entire Summer with little or no rain, crazy high temperatures, and lots of humidity!

[Manfroni]

Today I have been working on the water feature!!!!

I finally made it to set up the first stone... it was VERY heavy!!! It's the one at the left of the "Stonehenge-looking" rocks. I made that "stonehenge" by glueing those rocks together with mortar and its function is to create a cave where I can get access to the pump and the plumbing in the future.


And this is how it looked like just a few hours ago before it became too dark and I called it a day


The way this water feature works is the same way that a pondless fountain works. I filled the pond with gravel that I meticulously washed and rewashed, and rewashed, and rewashed with a power wash hose before throwing it inside. The pump is located in a garbage can (LOL) that I cut at the bottom to let water in. After the pump was placed in the right spot, I connected PVC pipes to the pump to create the water stream up to the fountain heads. The fountain also includes a little plastic tray that brings in water from the main house line. The inflow of water into the pond is controlled by a floater valve that keeps the water at the right level constantly--sort of like a toilet water tank works!


Thanks to this system, now I am able to place very heavy boulders on top of the pond without having to worry about breaking the plastic liner. The gravel keeps the liner strong in place and already pressed up into the ground. One note of the wise... make sure you use pea gravel, because it is round-shaped and it does not poke the liner with sharp angles!

[Manfroni]

This is how the house looked like this morning! It's starting to get rocky!!!!



I also really wanted to show this funny thing. My parents house in Rimini, Italy just seems to look incredibly similar to the house we have in Texas!!! Even my parents were stunned when they saw this picture!

[Manfroni]

Today we ordered 10 cubic yards of soil, 10,000 pounds of sandstone boulders, one ton of smaller boulders, andanother ton of flagstones. They will deliver the first load with the dirt tomorrow... Here is the problem however. When I went to the quarry and I explained both Todd and the clerk at the quarry that I need only concrete sand for the berm, they almost thought that I was stupid. The clerk even said that it does not make sense that I use limestone gravel as mulch for the plants. At the end of the day, they convinced me to buy their "mixed soil" for my berm. The clerk said he has a xeric garden and he used that soil with great results. He grows agaves, barrel cactus, and other xeric plants. This soil is much cheaper than concrete sand, so I don't,believe the clerk was after trying to rip dollars out of my pocket. This mixed soil is made of a "mix of topsoil, compost and sand. I hope it will have the drainage that I need for my plants.

Work in the yard continues tomorrow!

[Hoy]

You certainly have reshaped that garden, Rino! ( - little homesick maybe )

[Jeremy]

Rino, I could be wrong (I like to start out every statement with that disclaimer) but I think that if you use your soil for the core of your berm you should consider finishing it with a layer of concrete sand at least 4" (10 cm) thick on top. That way you'll be planting your small plants into pure sand so their crowns will remain well-drained. I still worry about the soil being too rich, but maybe the local guy knows something I don't. Perhaps all that rain leaches nutrients down faster than I'd expect.
Remember to build your berms higher than looks natural, because they will settle down.

[Lori S.]

i think it would be odd too not to have a top dressing over the soil mix (which I can't comment on, having no familiarity with your conditions).  I'd tend towards some sort of millimeters to centimeter size range of gravel or crushed rock, myself.  If there is any topography to the beds, coarser material like that may stay in place better in heavy rains, when water may be running and finding its drainage paths.  Sort of a desert pavement analogy, perhaps.

[Manfroni]

We almost completely finished our garden! The only thing left to do is the completion of the fountain, but that should not take too long. I finally got my crushed limestone as mulch for the berm and bigger limestone gravel for the rest of the front yard!



We even went ahead and started planting the first cactus plants! However, most of these plants are hardy until 20F. Last winter the temperature went down to 14F in February, so I believe I will have to find a way to cover these plants in the winter to protect them from being both cold and wet. I was thinking about clear plastic tubs that I could stick in the ground to create a cloche for each plant... what do you guys think?

[RickR]

Wow!  I'm not sure any of us really envisioned what the final landscape would be.  Most excellently done, Rino!  Awesome choice of interesting rocks, too.  You should be proud!

What are the two trees planted in the front?

[Manfroni]

The two trees planted in the front are Crape Myrtle plants. They have never been watered all throughout the summer going at temperatures higher than 100F for three months in a row, and they still thrived so much that I had to prune them drastically because they were going to obstruct the vision of the house from the street! They bloom all summer long too and there are many different colors.

[McDonough]

Thanks Rino for taking the time to present to everyone on NARGS Forum the evolution of your special landscape project; I think I too lost some weight re-living the amount of effort and sweat equity put into the awesome project.  I'm sure this topic will inspire others to consider documenting their garden creations and renovation efforts.  And keep us posted as the garden develops and plants mature.  Your location is different than many of us, but the basic ideas and concepts can translate to other climates. 

PS. Love the red crape myrtle, wonderful color.  They are certainly hardy at least to the Mid-Atlantic states, as I see gorgeous specimens when I visit my in-laws in the Baltimore Maryland area.

[DesertZone]

What an awesome front yard.  It will be fun to see how those plants grow in, very nice.