Xeriscaping appeals to Weisses

From their Barco Road back yard, Tunie and Jim Weiss have a wonderful view of a canal at Treasure Beach. And, that back landscape hasn't a single blade of grass. Instead you find beds of flowers and mulch. The front yard is much the same with mulched pathways winding around flower beds, plantings and shrubs.

The xeriscape approach to gardening has become popular with gardeners who are interested in having an attractive landscape with less work and most importantly, conserving water.

Turni is a firm believer in using melaleuca, an eco-friendly type of wood mulch, in the landscape. By using melaleuca mulch in the back landscape, Tuni has found it keeps ants away and fewer weeds pop up. Cypress mulch was used in the front yard and there are a few ant beds and weeds visible. She wants to replace this mulch with melaleuca which is difficult to find. Master Gardeners sold it at a Home and Garden Show, but it is not available from any commercial gardening supply outlets in the area.

Asked about her favorite plants, glancing over her landscape, Tuni says, "I like the gingers. There are so many varieties of that particular genus." She also looks for plants, vines and flowers that she can use in flower designing, as well as butterfly and bird attractants or for herbs that can be eaten. "I like seeing nature come," she said.

Slow-release fertilizers are used.

The Weisses have been residents of Treasure Beach, which is a bird sanctuary for several years.

While Jim restores old cars, Tuni is involved with gardening activities, although she helps out with restoration projects too, such as the upholstering. She is the current president of the Las Adelfas Garden Circle as well as a Master Gardener.

She's in charge of plant clinics and can usually be found twice a month at Home Depot dispensing gardening information.

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