Xeriscaping to Conserve water
Aug 26th, 2008 | By Rick | Category: Featured, Landscaping, Water Conservation
The xeriscaped lawn is geared toward efficient water use and conservation. It thrives during draughts when other lawns are either dying or sucking up precious water.
Xeriscaping does not relegate you to having a dry and dusty garden, even if you live in an arid or semi-arid area with little rain. The typical xeriscaped garden or lawn follows seven water conserving principles:
1. Pragmatic Planning – It does not make sense to put particularly thirsty plants in your yard’s dry spots.
2. Know Your Soil – You’ll want your plants to develop deep root systems that can get water during the driest part of the season. And they can only do that if they live in the type of soil to which they are adapted. You may have to improve your soil to accomplish this.
3. Watch Your Traffic – The regular turf you walk on needs water. Consider creating bark or cobblestone paths to guide yard traffic, and planting draught tolerant native grasses in less trafficked areas of your yard.
4. Stick With Native Grasses And Forbs – Native plants moved to your area and adapted to it long before you. So not only will they tolerate your local conditions, they will probably thrive in them.
5. Mulch – Mulching helps control weeds and keeps water in the soil it covers from evaporating.
6. Irrigate Sparingly And Efficiently – When it comes to irrigation, evaporation is your enemy, and soaker and drip hoses are your friends. They get the water directly to the ground where you want it.
7. Maintenance – Adjust your irrigation system’s waterflow throughout the season as your garden’s needs and conditions change; weed out thirsty and unwanted plants; periodically aerate your soil so that water can seep into it more easily; and don’t mow your grass too short.
Admittedly, xeriscaping requires quite a bit of initial planning and investment. Once you get through the initial stages though, you will have a beautiful yard that requires little maintenance, and even less water.
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