Xeriscape

A new drought-tolerant garden at the local historical society museum will be named in honor of Talmage Burke, who has served on the City Council for 45 years. The council is soliciting bids from contractors to build the Talmage V. Burke Xeriscape Garden in the northeast corner of the grounds of the Alhambra Historical Society Museum.

Silver bells and cockleshells might have done the job in Mary's garden, but in Santa Monica, city landscapers have something else in mind. Over the last few weeks, workers have uprooted the grass in three gardens near City Hall and replaced green turf with Australian bluebell creepers, bougainvillea and other "drought tolerant" plants. The $10,000 demonstration project is designed to promote an increasingly popular method of gardening called "xeriscape." From the Greek word xeros, for dry, xeriscaping uses a combination of stones, mulches and plants that need little water.

BOOKS Fulcrum Publishing has a series of xeriscape books (the "Xeriscape Plant Guide" has probably been the most popular) and now brings a general, more complete addition to the group. Gayle Weinstein's "Xeriscape Handbook" ($25, 1999) may not have a detailed flower and plant listing, but it does address most subjects conservation-conscious gardeners should be interested in. Xeriscaping is especially tuned to saving water, which always makes sense in Southern California.

Is your lawn drinking you out of house and home? Large amounts of water can be saved by watering lawns properly and by taking some simple conservation measures. Here are a few: Water early in the morning, so most of the water gets down to the roots instead of evaporating. You can also water early in the evening, but morning is the best time. Water only enough to keep your lawn healthy.

Does this winter's deluge and the official end of the six-year drought mean the death of the budding xeriscape movement? Can we gardeners forget about drought-tolerant plants and conserving water and get back to business as usual, pre-drought? It might seem so. Gardens are as green as can be, blooming like they haven't in years. Nursery sales are booming, up 40% over last March at one large retailer. Gardeners are giddy about all the rainfall.

Here are some of the most popular landscaping design trends in Southern California: Mediterranean--The California interpretation tends to be an informal, cool oasis that often includes a courtyard and water. Hardscape: Courtyards, fountains, arches, wrought iron, tile, adobe, Slumpstone, light colors. Softscape: palm trees, succulents, fruit trees, bougainvillea, aloe, red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria) . Xeriscape--Features use of drought-tolerant plantings, not all native to this area, that still provide an overall lush appearance.

Dana Point, which was mildly hit by a South Orange County water shortage last summer, will be co-host of a session Wednesday to help educate the public on how to conserve water through wise landscaping. The Xeriscape Conference will start at 7 p.m. at the Dana Hills Tennis Center, 24911 Calle de Tennis. The conference, also hosted by the Capistrano Bay Parks and Recreation Department, is free and open to the public. Free brochures will be distributed.

Re "Everyone's delta," editorial, March 3 I'm one of those "old-time Northern Californians" with a "reflexive opposition" to a peripheral canal. I live in L.A. now, but I believe that any lawn that needs a sprinkler deserves to die. I remember the droughts of the late 1970s. While Northern Californians flushed toilets only when conditions became dire, Southern Californians continued to sprinkle their lawns. Does Southern California need delta water? About as much as a Hummer needs oil drilled in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.