Professional Native Landscape Design
Drought Tolerant Gardens
Although we are in Oregon, this is not the Pacific Northwest! The best way to characterize our Rogue Valley is that it is a "Summer Dry" climate. We celebrate plants that naturally thrive with less irrigation in the summer and receive most of their water as rain in our wet winters.
We avoid using the term "drought tolerant" since all plants are tolerant of drought in their native habitat, and no plant can survive without some water. The art, and the pleasure, of what we do at Rockbird Gardens is in using the right plant in the right place.
Plants that would thrive in Portland, Seattle or even Eugene need too much summer water here in our valley. We empathize with the Southern Oregon gardener, daydreaming over photos of lush northwestern or eastern gardens that could never survive here. But fear not! We design beautiful, low-water gardens that will fill your outdoor space with lush color.
Not only will a "Summer Dry" garden save a precious resource, (and money on your monthly water bill!), but choosing the right plants for this summer dry ecosystem will also support local pollinators and birds and do it with little maintenance.
We design Summer Dry gardens with an emphasis on California and Southern Oregon natives that thrive on good drainage and very little summer water. We will make sure that your garden has the correct soil structure for drainage and design a water-wise drip system to suit the trees and plants you choose from a wide variety of natives and other "summer dry" cultivars.
If water conservation is among your priorities, we can design a space with structure, seasonal color, movement and beauty for you.