In February the aloe plants bloom at the Los Angeles Arboretum, but they must have bloomed early this year. Many of those brilliant orange spires had faded in the aloe garden, but the Pink Trumpet Tree, a Brazilian native, was in full flower, gloriously.
Many trees were still leafless but since this February day was absolutely gorgeous (80F!) A lot of mothers with young children were around enjoying the weather, too.
I continued my walk around the Arboretum and was absolutely shocked when I got to the Lucky Baldwin house in the southern part of the Arboretum.
The lake beside the home is rain-and-spring fed. The Arboretum makes a big deal of the fact that no city water is pumped into it to keep it full. I can remember that once–maybe it was back in the early 1990s–the lake went dry. Well, it’s happening again as you can see in the photo. There appeared to be less than a foot of water in the lake.
On my way back home after the visit I took a photo of an electronic sign beside the freeway. Normally the sign tells drivers about traffic conditions and occasionally missing child reports are posted on it. For the last several days the sign’s default is about the drought. It reads: Serious Drought. Help Save Water. Saving water is going to be more challenging in this drought.
After the one in the late 1980s-early 1990s (I think!) low flow shower heads and low flow toilets were mandated in all new buildings and for all replacements in existing homes here in Southern California. So that avenue for decreasing water usage is already in place.
I suspect gardens, especially those water-guzzling lawns, will be the next target for water conservation.
The Arboretum has ripped up a huge section of lawn and seeded in a California native plant meadow which should bloom within a few weeks. The only problem with those native meadows is that they get very ugly by mid-summer.
If you are interested in attractive low-water usage plants for your garden, visit my Hot Gardens website for hundreds of proven ideas and photos. I am a certified Master Gardener.
Originally published in February 2014.
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