The Semi-Dry (garden 
Lo make a garden fair there must be water—plenty of 
water. So everyone has always thought. Greedily thirsty 
rare most of the members of the plant world, yet, bend 
low and hear an amazing discovery! An almost dry sum¬ 
mer garden, with a surprising wealth of blossoms, may be yours 
for the making! It matters little whether one has a rocky hillside 
or a bit of level ground, whether the soil is rich, poor, or neutral. 
Even the intensity of the sun has been braved by an in¬ 
credible number of gay, sturdy garden denizens, some of which 
are old favorites, while others can be said to have scarcely shed 
the imprints of the wilds. 
During the great drought of 1930 gardens everywhere suffered. 
It was truly a survival of the fittest among the flowers. Yet an 
astonishing number seemed not to have noticed either the heat, 
or the curtailing of moisture. They continued to blossom, despite 
all adverse conditions. It is true, however, that their Spring root- 
growth was well established by plenty of water some weeks before 
they were called upon to meet the severe test of the Summer. Yet 
it is equally true that the amount of water they received during the 
severe heat of three to four months duration was comparatively 
very little in most cases, and not at all in a few. 
The fern-like foliage and delicate-tinted pinky-orchid flowers 
of the Desert Willow were as unaffected as the Crape Myrtle, 
Althea, Buddlia and Vitex, all of which grow quite as tall. Poin- 
ciana, Parkinsonia, Honey Locust, Senisa, Greasewood, Tamarix 
(salt cedar) and the Sumacs (Rhus) have the additional quali¬ 
fications of being, with the Willow, indigenous to our Southwest. 
Of the good drought-resistant shrubs of medium height and ex¬ 
cellent foliage, but which blossom almost as early in the Spring 
193 
Quantities of 
Water Not 
Always an 
Essential 
Necessary 
in Spring 
Drought- 
Resistant 
Shrubs 
