Dreaming of Spring Daffodils and Fall Colors: Gardening During Seasons that Don't Require Supplemental Water

The greatest thing about winter other than the snow is the four idle months to think about spring. Even with work and a college class I'm taking, I still have more time on hand to dream than during summer days swallowed by watering.

Some health issues are causing me to rethink some of my garden plans for Dry Creek.  I just may not have it in me to drag hoses all over to water during the summer.

I always planned on water-wise gardening, and was going for Tuscan-style gardens, as they they require less water than say an English cottage garden, especially since some of our native species, such as rabbit brush, would look very natural in a Tuscan-style garden.

But as we receive almost all of our moisture during the fall, winter and spring, when it is too cold for most flowers, I'm beginning to rethink things a bit.

During the spring, we have more water than we know what to do with.  The snow comes and goes, as the temperature fluctuates, and March through early May, the fields look like Ireland, watered by the continual coming and going of the snow.

During the spring, the ground is moist, perfect for deer-resistant daffodils.
A patch in the old apricot orchard would be beautiful.

Also during that time, Dry Creek is anything but dry.  For a couple of months it froths and foams and a separated but underground-connected seasonal spring feeds our irrigation system though early July.

Marci by Dry Creek.   This is a drought year, so it's a bit lower than normal.

So, why not plan the major splash of splendor for the seasons when no supplemental water is needed?   I can't plant tulips because they are a favorite of the deer, but luckily deer have neither a taste for irises nor daffodils.

The other spectacular season here is fall.  We already have a canyon of oak and maple.  The soil is right, even up on top, and so strategically planted oaks and maple could create quite the fall show.  Oak here don't need supplemental water once established, and I'm pretty sure the irrigation from march to early July would be enough for the maples to get through the long, hot summer as that is what they must do down in the canyon.

Our natural fall colors.  The red is a maple, the orange an oak.

Summer then would be the time for a few small specialty gardens as well as the vegetable garden, which would be planted close by the house, so I wouldn't have as much walking to do.

Flowers in a portion of the vegetable garden--
this smaller area would continued be watered all year. 

These seasonal, water-wise gardens also wouldn't require much care.  Daffodils and irises are perennials and their broad leaves and showy flowers easily stand out even if grasses and natives weeds surround them. Planted randomly in bunches, they have a wild, natural look, and so weeds really wouldn't be distracting.