Wow even harder than Saudi Arabia? I have heard that if you can garden in Texas, that you can garden anywhere. I grew up here in the hillcountry so it is all I know. I must have had a past life in the tropics because I just go gaga over big, lush, and colorful. If it is rare I got to have it. If it is hard to grow I gotta prove em' wrong! I I have worked in the plant industry on and off for years and have learned there are a lot of rules. I'm not one for following boring gardening rules and in doing so I have learned a lot of tricks.
Yes, the extremes of quickly changing weather here are a challenge. The secret is healthy soil full of lots of organic nutrition. My personal secret is horse poo and a bag of lady bug dirt with new hardwood mulch every season. I use a lot of hardy natives and in focal points put all my lush beauties so the overall effect is tropical without all the water use. I actually use less water than a suburban green lawn!
