Karz said people who are skeptical about their ability to grow native-plant gardens have approached her and she always tells them to look to the hillsides. The same can be said about the globemallow."
So, the penstemon happens to be one of my favorite plants because it thrives on neglect. "If they are watered, they will produce a flourishing green plant, but not bloom very nicely. "Penstemons, for example, don’t like to be watered," Karz said. The reason is most of the native plants are used to the high-alkaline, rocky and sandy soils. "That said, a lot of native plants will thrive in a composted area and situation, but they won’t necessarily need it." "When I amend areas of my garden with the compost, I make the soil friendlier to certain plants," she said. I toss stuff in there and know eventually it does decompose."Īlthough Karz’s method takes longer than most, she still sees the fruits of her labor. "Composting is so easy," according to Karz. New this year will be tubs of locally made compost, which is a favorite topic for Insa Riepen, executive director of Recycle Utah, Karz said. "That way we can teach about plant placement as well during the sale and guide them to the plants that will work better in their situation." "So the first question we ask when people come to the sale is where they live," she said. "There are plants that will grow on the east side of my house that won’t grow on the west side of my house. "It all depends on what are faces which direction," Karz said. The climates can even differ on one property. "For example, you can find apple trees in Old Town and thriving lilacs because the area is a little more protected and doesn’t get as cold at night as it does out in Silver Springs," Karz said. One of the interesting aspects of xeriscaping, especially in Park City is dealing with an array of microclimates in the area. So you can be sure these plants aren’t coming out of the Northwest from some lush place in Oregon." "These plants are used to alkaline soils and are acclimated to our climate. "They’ve grown wildflowers from seeds they have collected in the region over the years," Karz explained. Joseph, a small town in Central Utah, for the sale. "It’s an idea that has taken hold, particularly when water conservation has become a hot topic of conversation these days."Īs always, Recycle Utah will team with Wildland Nursery, which is located in St. "If you go down to the Sale Lake airport, you will see they have used all native and drought-tolerant species," she said. "They were all very hard to find, but now the various nurseries around town have grown their selection over the years."Īlso, the state has taken an interest in xeriscaping, according to Karz. "In the beginning, there weren’t a lot of people who actually carried these types of plants at the nurseries," she said. Still, Karz is pleased at how far the public’s interest in xeriscaping and water conservation has grown since the sale started in 2001. We have a lot of part-time residents, so our mission, is still very much relevant every year." "There are always new people coming in and then there’s the fact that we’re a transient community as well. "It’s interesting, at this point, we would have liked to havw converted everyone who live up here to do xeriscape gardening and use native plants, but, of course, the community has grown so much," Karz told The Park Record. The mission of the sale, which will take place on Saturday, June 14, is to educate people to understand the type of climate they live in and the types of landscapes that would thrive the best in these areas, said Linda Karz, a Recycle Utah volunteer who organizes the event. The idea was and still is to help community members design drought-resistant gardens and conserve water usage. Recycle Utah, a Park City-based nonprofit that works with the public to lead sustainable lives, has hosted the annual native plant sale for the past 13 years. The blooms of penstemon, a drought-resistent flower, is one of the native plants that will be offered during Recycle Utah's annual native plant sale on Saturday.