Hi all, My parents are getting ready to landscape the hill in our backyard. The natural "soil" is very dry, fine, and rock filled. Where possible we can probably replace/augment the existing dirt with potting soil, et c. The one thing we can't do anything about is the wind. During parts of the year, the winds can get upwards of 40-60 miles per hours (65 - 100 km/hour), maybe even a bit more. Any suggestions as to what plants might be able to withstand these kinds of winds would be greatly appreciated. Also, tropical plants are preferred as well. As far as temps go, during the winter they can be as low as the low 30's F (around 0 C) in the night time. Also, during the summer temps can easily get up to 110 F (43 C) or occasionally 120 F (48 C) during the day, so anything that enjoys full sun is very welcome! These temps listed are kind of the extremes we can possibly get. Here is a link for our city's climate, including temps per month: http://www.idcide.com/weather/ca/fontana.htm Thanks in advance, Joey
Here a few suggestions...http://www.bewaterwise.com/fire02.htmlhttp://www.sccfiresafe.org/LWF/LWF_06_17.pdf
Block the wind out with plantings, something that needs to be done to make the garden usable for people as well as plants requiring some shelter.
Have you looked at planting decorative grasses - there are so many types and can be beautiful all year - they do well in most types of soil conditions and most are drought tolerant.
If your area is prone to wind and fires, then rethink about planting a wind screen of any substantial height...
I'd start by planting something native or at least good and cold-hardy as a windscreen - junipers or other deep-rooted evergreens are normally a good choice. You can also use bananas as a wind screen if you want a tropical look, but you'll have to protect them over the winter.
Try asking gardeners in northwest Scotland . . . they had a 200 km/h gale last week, and that wasn't particularly unusual. A couple of years ago, they had 240 km/h, and in 1993, more than that. I've heard of things there like getting up in the morning to find the lawn has blown away.
Wow Michael, that sounds pretty extraordinary! It sounds like you could hang glide across the country starting from the ground! Unfortunately, I don't know any Scots that I could ask. Maybe I'll check the Google archives for Scottish gardening info. Baron, Ron, planterlady, lorax, thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be visiting again this weekend, so I'll see what they think about your suggestions. I know they've thought about a decorative grass for one side of the hill, mostly to prevent the numerous 'weeds' that come back every spring (although I suppose those are native plants in their own right).
I live near the rim of a valley. We get a very nasty "north wind" during summer that dries everything. the bulb farms and nursery people make use of hedging that works very well. But one needs room for that. A friend on a farm has created V shaped hedging against the prevailing wind for her animals. You might be able to use that idea but using trellis and hessian or similar and metal star pickets for strength and plant in front by hollowing out the not so good soil and filling with composty material mixed with original soil. Use plants native to the area to begin the initial planting and as time goes on and they grow fill in other areas with more plants. The edge nearest the wind should be something that can cope with the winds. Castwellan gold ( Leylandii) or near neighbours are used here along with camellia (close plantings of hedge type) Laurel, Holly etc. Many of our old station/farm properties are sourrounded by cypress hedging. They are out inthe middle of huge expanses of paddocks. Inside the circle of hedging are some glorious gardens well protected from ceaseless winds. Liz
The most effective is a gradual increase in height starting with the shortest plants at the front and the tallest nearest the garden, so that the wind climbs up the windbreak like it was a staircase and is lifted over the property.
That certainly sounds like a plan - how wide would the windbreak need to be to be effective. It is hard to imagine 200 Km winds!!
Yeah, at those wind speeds, if you want to go somewhere, you don't walk, you don't even crawl on all fours. You get right down on your belly and creep. Know someone who had to do exactly that to get off a hilltop safely. Try to sit up, and you're airborne. It is (fortunately!) only a very few areas that get it quite so bad - the coasts of the Hebrides and Shetland islands, and the higher hill tops (the mountain weather station at 1100m above sea level on Cairngorm holds the UK wind speed record of 274 km/h . . .). Most of Scotland is much more sheltered, so general Scottish garden info might not have too much useful info.
