Gloria Perry's Xeriscaping Earns Her Yard of Week Honor

Gloria Perry's place is a model for xeriscaping in Payson.  She shares a wealth of information on the plantlife growing there, with very little water and maintenance.

When Gloria Perry moved from the lush New York landscape to the desert of Utah twenty-four years ago, she was surprised by the vast, green lawns she saw growing from city to town. Aware of resource issues akin to the area, she was determined to create for herself a water conscious landscape. Upon completion of the home she designed for herself at 304 South Loafer View Drive in Payson eight years ago, Gloria set out to surround it in landscape that could weather the dry climate, as well as abide with the sloping hill on which her home sits.

As concerned as she was over water issues, she did not want to give up the possibility for a plant-based place. “Most people think of xeriscaping as rocks,” she explained, “but there are hundreds of wonderful flowers for all year.”

Her place has since become a showpiece for many of them. But determining what would work best for our region required research. Gloria traveled to Cascade Gardens in West Jordan, where she learned about native plants and growing techniques, then purchased starts and seeds here and from other nurseries with varieties suitable in a dry climate. High Country Garden, based out of New Mexico, has been the most valuable source, she said, providing her with an abundance of plants growing in both the front and back of her of her home.

What has resulted is a desert-friendly garden-scape, with blooms rising and setting in stages, from spring to fall. Some come with the added splendor of fragrances akin to cinnamon, such as a Fernbush Gloria calls “Cinnamon,” and chocolate, found with the Moonlight Broomplant, a bush at the corner that is covered with tiny yellow flowers. Then there is the brilliant orange of the Zauschineria plant, which draws countless hummingbirds. Blue persimmon blooms in early spring, she notes, while the magenta Poppy Mallow blooms in late June and through most of July. There are Blue Salvia growing on her property, along with yellow Ozark Sundrops in bloom from mid-June to mid-July, ornamental oregano, purple Russian Sage, a plumbago that awakens in late summer through early fall, a wild Mullein herb which takes the stage in the fall, graceful and delicate Guara with its tiny apple blossom-like flowers, and tall, spike-shaped species she simply refers to as “my candlesticks.” Climbing and winding around beams and trellises, a Calmatis Vine, native to the area and requiring little water, frames her front porch. It is in full bloom in June, Gloria noted, with an abundance of vibrant yellow flowers. Rabbit brush native to this area and feathery Apache Plume, with white flowers that turn to soft pink in the fall and shimmer in the sunlight, out back. Wild species occasionally find their way to Gloria's place, which she welcomes, allowing them to incorporate to the scene.

After these distinct blooming seasons end, she takes care to ensure regrowth. “You have to let them go to seed to propagate them,” Gloria explained. ”Then you cut them back.”

Importantly, she notes, all the plantlife on her property require a scant amount of water. “Last year, I only watered three times,” she said. As for this year, she has not watered once, she said.

As Gloria pursued water conscious growing when her home was built, the property’s steep slope out front was addressed with the construction of rock walls. Mark Tyler built them for her, she said, thus segmenting off approachable spaces for beds of desert friendly plants. Mark shares the home as a boarder with Gloria, along with a cat, and a gentle brown-spotted Dalmatian-mix dog named Abbie, who she adopted from a Paws Rescue Shelter.

Gloria added her own handmade skills to the outdoors by including some of her artwork. Her favorite is a horse she painted on purple-tone tiles perched not far from the front door. It adds an extra splash of color to the natural environment- an environment worthy of Yard of the Week.