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In the 1800s , American pioneers driving wagon trains west across the Great Plains glimpsed in the rolled , grandiloquent - grass prairie an echo of the ocean . Grasses evoke the motion of urine so well that a horizon - across-the-board view of them can make us feel as if we are at sea . Grasses are n’t the only industrial plant , however , that suggest water . Many others share this quality , whether through cascading or fountain - like contour , or through gloss that , when mass , brings to listen a river or syndicate , or even through an uncanny resemblance to undersea life history like precious coral and seaweed .
Savvy , creative gardeners can employ such plants in their piddle - saving gardens to produce an delusion of weak copiousness . Choosing dry - adapted works to accomplish this sleight of hand score the magic even more substantial . Here are some fast one to keep up your sleeve .
Photo by : Pam Penick .
Make Waves with Mary Jane
Mass grasses to produce a good sense of washy movement , specially on windy days . For low ripple , try meadowy sedge ( Carexspp . ) or plains - native buffalograss ( Bouteloua dactyloides ) . To bring up the illusion of billow moving ridge , use taller ornamental grasses : cloud - like bamboo muhly ( Muhlenbergia dumosa ) , rosy beloved grass ( Eragrostis spectabilis ) , and cotton candy - colored Gulf muhly ( Muhlenbergia capillaris ) . Mexican feather sess ( Nassella tenuissima , picture ) can also be used , but be careful — it has been take for invasive in California and is baffling in other areas .
ferment On a Fountain of Arching Leaves
Choose plants with an arching or vase - shaped form to introduce a spring impression in a dry garden . Planted singly , rather than en masse , fountain - shaped plants gain power through demarcation with other forms , like mounds , cones , or sprawling groundcover . Try appropriately named fount grass ( Pennisetumspp . ) , prairie dropseed ( Sporobolus heterolepis ) , and regal moor green goddess ( Moliniaspp . ) . Strappy yuccas , phormiums , and genus Cordyline have “ spraying ” forms too .
Spill a Waterfall of Foliage
cascade plants create the illusion of a spill waterfall , especially when planted atop walls , where their flow habit can be shown off to nifty vantage . pick out creeping groundcover like silver ponyfoot ( Dichondra argentea ) ; sprawling perennials like prostrate rosemary ; and grassy clumpers like spaghetti - allow for Texas beargrass ( Nolina texana ) . Many succulents , too , raise falling pee : the steady , moss - green dripping of string - of - pearl ( Senecio rowleyanus ) ; the splatter result of upturned leaves on string - of - fishhooks ( Senecio radicans ) ; and the rivulets of bottlebrush - textured burro ’s tail sedum ( Sedum morganianum ) .
Conjure Water with Weeping Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
With pendant limbs , weeping tree bring to beware the piss - have intercourse weeping willow , which grows along flow and pool . What a magic , then , to use that droop form to fool the brain into imagining a nearby creek or puddle in a teetotal garden ! try on weeping acacia ( Acacia pendula ) , a wry - garden doppelgänger of the weeping willow ; cry yaupon holly ( Ilex vomitoria‘Pendula ’ ) , whose bolt cloak , evergreen plant arm are bedeck with scarlet berries in winter ; and cry mulberry ( Morusspp . ) , whose pall - corresponding branch swing the terra firma .
Dip into Leafy Pools and Streams
Mat - form or creeping groundcover with silver or blue - dark-green foliage make the conjuring trick of a crystal clear pool and make good lawn alternatives too . Try woolly stemodia ( Stemodia lanata ) , with silverish unripened leaves ; lamb ’s ear ( Stachys byzantina ) , with pettable , fuzzy foliation ; and Ag rug ( Dymondia margaretae ) , whose silvery livid parting lie flat on the ground . For a meandering stream , choose a long - blooming , lowly - to - medium - sized perennial with blue or majestic bloom , and mass it by the dozens in a winding ribbon . Good prospect includeblue imitation indigo(Baptisia australis ) , ‘ May Night ’ salvia , and lavender .
Mimic Coral Reefs and Lily Ponds
Massed in a rock garden , a colorful categorisation of succulent can simulate an under - the - sea garden so convincingly that a clownfish might sense at home . This is a joke that only those in frost - gratuitous mood can pull off in in - ground garden , but elsewhere you’re able to use container plants and bring them indoors for wintertime . appear for clamshell - shaped paddle plant ( Kalanchoe luciae ) ; frilly echeverias , massed to resemble coral ; many - armed calamary and octopus agaves ; and blue chalksticks ( Senecio serpens ) for soft - fingered anemones . Or make an ever - blooming , waterless lily pool by embed a bowl - regulate container with a smattering of echeverias for the water lilies , mulched with blue chicken feed for the water supply .
extract and photographs reprinted with permission fromTHE body of water - SAVING GARDENby Pam Penick , copyright © 2016 , published by Ten Speed Press , an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC . exposure right of first publication © 2016 by Pam Penick .
