Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current, August 17, 2018, Page 7, Image 31

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    August 17, 2018
CapitalPress.com
7
Native ornamentals
flourish with little water
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
Many consumers are say-
ing so long to their lawns
and replacing thirsty grass
with low-maintenance na-
tive plants, says Diane Jones,
owner of Draggin’ Wing High
Desert Nursery in northwest
Boise.
“There’s a growing aware-
ness of the importance of na-
tive plants because they toler-
ate heat and a dry climate and
are attractive,” said Jones,
who opened her business in
2004. “It’s encouraging to
see how people’s attitudes are
changing.”
Once reviled, even sage-
brush with its many varieties
is becoming revered and pop-
ular as a low maintenance or-
namental plant.
“Sagebrush and other
native shrubs will be used
in re-landscaping the area
around the new Broadway
Bridge,” she said.
In a demonstration garden,
Jones points out bright yellow
flowers that flourish with little
water.
“Sulphur Buckwheat is an
Idaho native that’s gorgeous
and often overlooked,” she
said. “It has evergreen foli-
age and is beautiful either cut
or dried for flower arrange-
ments. Bees and other polli-
nators love it, too.”
A Rocky Mountain Bee
plant, nearly 3 feet tall, at-
tracts bumblebees and hon-
eybees to its fringy purple
flowers.
“These are incredible, too,
and bloom all summer,” she
said, pointing to nearby Sun-
drops, a mound bursting with
half-dollar-sized flowers with
four satiny yellow petals.
“Sundrops are native to
the Southwest and grow well
here, too,” she said.
Behind the Sundrops, Gi-
ant Flowered Purple Sage
grows.
A retired history professor,
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Diane Jones says the radiant Sulphur Buckwheat is an Idaho
native that thrives with little water.
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Sundrops and Giant Flowered
Purple Sage flourish in a
demonstration garden in north-
western Boise.
Jones, 72, started her nurs-
ery on 3 acres she bought in
1999. She named her business
for killdeers that nest there in
spring and pretend to have a
broken wing as a ploy to lead
predators away from chicks.
“I loved gardening and
had landscaped my own yard
with native plants that didn’t
need much water,” she said.
“One thing led to another, and
I wanted to provide these xe-
riscape plants to others. Most
plants in the demo gardens
are on a light drip system, al-
though the sagebrush receives
no water.”
For the nursery, Jones
selects native and region-
ally adapted ornamental
plants based on their beau-
ty,
cold-hardiness,
and
drought-tolerance.
To give clients an idea of
what plants will look like
in their yards, she planted
demonstration gardens.
“The beds are constantly
changing throughout the year
and look beautiful even in
winter,” she said. “You can
plan a landscape for four sea-
sons.”
In addition to running
Draggin’ Wing, Jones leas-
es her land to other growers.
Earthly Delights is a com-
munity supported agriculture
program that sells fresh fruit,
vegetables and herbs.
The Snake River Seed Co-
operative grows, packages
and sells heirloom, open-pol-
linated vegetable and flow-
er seeds. It has 29 growers
throughout the Intermountain
West.
“I package the seeds from a
few of my own native plants,”
said Jones, also a member of
the cooperative.
“People tell me they
like native flowering plants
because they’re so low-main-
tenance and also attract pol-
linators: native bees, honey-
bees, butterflies and others.”
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N18-4/100