Native plants hardy — and beautiful

With another year of drought, gardeners need to take a long, hard look at the plants they are growing and new plants they want to add to their palette with an eye toward water use.

One way to reduce the amount of water used in the garden is to select plants that grow well in the high-elevation desert regions of the Great Basin and surrounding areas. The hostile growing environment — water shortages, temperature extremes, harsh soils — eliminates all but the toughest of plants.

While plant survival is critical, they have to offer more. Successful landscape plants need to adapt well to the intended soil, have aesthetic appeal and have reasonable maintenance requirements. It is difficult to combine all of the above criteria into a single plant choice.

Plant selection is easier now with the publication of "Native Plants for High Elevation Western Gardens," by horticulturist Janice Busco and Nancy R. Morin, executive director of The Arboretum in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Morin, who will offer two presentations on high-elevation gardening, has a long line of plant-friendly credentials. She spent time at the University of California at Berkeley, the Smithsonian, the American Botanical Gardens and Arboretum headquarters and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Her lifelong love of native Western plants came from spending many years hiking in the mountains around Santa Barbara, Calif.

Now, Morin's testing site is a 200-acre site near Flagstaff. This living museum of plants and habitats is home to one of the largest collections of high-country wildflowers in America. The garden, research station and environmental education center are located 7,150 feet above sea level and nestled in the world's largest ponderosa pine forest.

The arboretum was originally a working ranch and home of Frances McAllister, whose love of gardening came from her childhood in the Los Angeles area. But she found duplicating a Southern California garden in a high-desert climate frustrating and learned to appreciate the beauty and durability of drought-tolerant native plants.

The present gardens emphasize McAllister's desire to preserve and encourage the use of these waterwise natives. The arboretum has helped evaluate hundreds of flowers to find those that grow best in dry, cold areas.

Each plant covered in "Native Plants" undergoes extensive testing to determine its suitability for landscape purposes.

The book starts with an excellent introduction on "The Joy of Growing Native Plants":