Plants have to be tough to survive in my no-water garden.

Although you couldn’t tell by the storms we’ve had over the last few days, rainfall can be scarce around here in spring and summer. That’s why I started a no-water garden bed in one corner of my front yard.

This bed faces south and gets full sun most of the day. To grow here, plants have to be able to survive on only natural precipitation because I rarely water this bed.

My no-water garden helps me balance my need for colorful blooms with the need to conserve water in my landscape. Last June I planted two Mesa Verde ice plants I picked up at the Plant Select annual meeting to test their endurance.

The plants start as mats of succulent, evergreen leaves and yesterday I noticed that one plant is blooming. Its salmon-pink flowers have a shiny, almost iridescent quality to them.

The annual plant sale at Pickens Tech is a frenzy of activity as gardeners load up their carts and wagons with colorful hanging baskets, patio pots, veggies, herbs and perennials.

I’ve been going to the Pickens Tech plant sale every year since 2001 and I’ve never seen it as busy as it was this morning. Talk about a plant feeding frenzy!

Pickens Tech is a career and technical school in Aurora, Colo., and the students in the horticulture assistant program work in the school’s greenhouses to plant, grow and sell annuals, vegetables, herbs and perennials to benefit the program.

The sale started this morning at 8:00 am and the plants were soon flying out of the greenhouses and into the backs of pickup trucks and the trunks of cars. I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to find a parking spot and was surprised to see such long lines of gardeners waiting to checkout. But no one seemed to mind.

Gardeners looking for hardy plants to add to their gardens should check this out.

I was at the Plant Select annual meeting a few years ago when the seed was planted for a new garden book. That seed germinated and now it has bloomed.

“Durable Plants for the Garden: A Plant Select Guide” is a beautiful new resource for gardeners looking to add the hardiest plants to their gardens. It’s an essential addition to every gardener’s library.

The book, edited by James E. Henrich, is a cooperative effort of Plant Select, Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Green Industries of Colorado.

The book includes the first 74 plants introduced to the public by the Plant Select Program. The program’s goal is to introduce and then recommend more adaptable plants to the Rocky Mountain region and beyond and every year 6 or 7 plants are chosen. Some of the plants are overlooked treasures and other are completely new to the trade.