Summer-Dry

09/19/2025

Our new blog post on the maples of the West Coast is now on the website. https://summer-dry.com/maples-of-coastal-western-north-america/

08/28/2025

Great new blog post: Easy, Well-Mannered Grasses now of the website. https://summer-dry.com/some-easy-well-mannered-ornamental-grasses/

07/02/2025

"When we first heard the term Zone Zero, the 5 foot zone immediately next to a house that is supposed to be free of any flammable materials, including all vegetation, almost every gardener I know began to panic."

Where are we now ? New bog post: Fire Zone Landscape Codes:
https://summer-dry.com/fire-zone-landscape-codes/

05/23/2025

Latest Blog on Lupines:
"Depending on how they are classified, between 200 and 500 species of lupines are native to three regions of the world: the eastern and southern Mediterranean; western North, Central, and South America; and eastern North and South America. ..."
https://summer-dry.com/lupines/

04/17/2025

An important new blog "Making the Most of Zone Zero" considers California's upcoming new landscaping ordinance prohibiting vegetation with in 5 feet (Zone 0) of homes.
https://summer-dry.com/making-the-most-of-zone-zero/

Now, in the midst of tumultuous climate change, we realize it’s all the more important that gardeners be stewards of the land, attuned to the local environment on behalf of all creatures. Every small act we do adds resiliency Garden Where You Are Garden Plants Fire and

11/21/2024

Our new blog post is about Leucospermums which should be more common in summer-dry climate gardens:

“Outside of South Africa, where almost all are endemic, leucospermums are best known for their otherworldly cut flowers. Gardeners in other mild-winter, summer-dry climates likely purchase the flowers without realizing that they might be able to grow them.”
https://summer-dry.com/leucospermums/

08/28/2024

Puya are surprisingly easy but require plenty of space. New blog post:
https://summer-dry.com/the-chilean-puyas/

08/09/2024

We hope you are seeing our page after reading the newsletter and will join in a discussion about seasons in the broad geographic range of summer-dry climates.

We photographed three of the photos seen here in Seattle in early June when gardens were still green and lush; and three photos in late August at UC Davis in the very hot and dry central valley of California.

Both are summer-dry climates and there is beauty in all seasons. Do you find beauty in your garden all year ?