Xeric Fern Beds
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Xeric Fern Beds |
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Below are a few pictures of the Xeric Fern beds. About three years ago the original Xeric Fern bed was dug and planted. This was a trial to determine if both US native and non-native ferns would or could survive in our climate. The trial was successful enough that it formed the basis for the GPC Native Plant Botanical Garden entry in the 2007 Southeastern Flower Show. As a result of this success three additional xeric fern beds were planted, using a different technique. Instead of digging out the soil, raised beds were planted on the existing soil. You may also notice some stakes with red flags in these early pictures. The flags marked plants which needed to be identified by botanical keying.
All pictures are the property of the photographers - William Belknap, George Sanko or Linda Pirkle. They are the sole property of the photographers and may not be used for any commercial purpose. Please feel free to use them in any other way. Many of the photos are linked to a much higher definition file. Users with slow download speeds are advised not to click on the pictures unless they are willing to wait for the picture to download because the pictures are up to about 500KB.
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April 11, 2007. This picture was taken soon after the new raised beds were installed. Notice the growth of the Prickly Pear Cactus in the later pictures. |
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July 11, 2007. A view of the original Xeric Bed. This bed like the garden is different today as additional ferns have been added. |
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July 11, 2007. A view of the new Xeric raised beds later in the season. These beds are watered to maintain the green foliage, but this is not necessary for the plant to survive. |
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August 1, 2007. Taken another month later the bed is filled in more with both additional plant material, but mainly due to the growth of the existing plants. |
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August 19, 2007. Showing the left two raised beds as the third bed was unfortunately in too much sunlight. |
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November 14, 2007. We are redoing the original xeric bed so that it will be only US natives. Most of the plants have been removed to overwinter in the greenhouse. At this point, the new large rocks and thick layer of PermaTill give the bed a zen look. |
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December 05, 2007. A few plants have been added. Next spring we will complete renovation of this bed. |
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May 7, 2008. The new(2007) xeric beds. |
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May 21, 2008. The original xeric bed has been replanted. |
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July 10, 2007. A detailed shot showing plants in the third raised xeric bed. |
July 10, 2007. A detailed shot showing plants in the first raised xeric bed. |
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July 10, 2007. A detailed shot showing plants in the first raised xeric bed. |
July 10, 2007. A detailed shot showing plants in one of the raised xeric beds. |
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July 14, 2007. A detailed shot showing plants in the third raised xeric bed. |
July 31, 2007. A detailed shot showing plants in the second raised xeric bed. |
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November 14, 2007. A picture of an Agave in one of the new xeric beds. |
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