X is for Landscaping

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter X and the category of Informational

Well I thought for sure this letter would stump me, especially with this particular category but in the end it wasn’t all that hard.

As a plant lover and a landscaper, I am always coming up with new ways to fill my planting beds full of new flowers, shrubs and ornamental trees.

 

However, sometimes the situation doesn’t always call for the traditional ways of planting.  Especially for those of you who live in arid climates or have watering restrictions. 

For this type of landscaping, there is an alternative.  It is called:

Xeriscaping

noun

1.

Environmental design of residential and park land using various methods for minimizing the need for water use.

There are seven main design principles of xeriscaping

#1. Plan and design. 

#2. Soil amendments

#3. efficient irrigation

#4. appropriate plant/zone selection

#5. Mulch

#6. Limited turf

In a nutshell here are some ideas incorporated from the 7 principles above.

Plan you landscape accordingly.  Don’t put shade loving plants on the sunny side of your house or sensitive ones in a windy area.  Plants have light requirements to grow to the best of their ability. 

Make sure your soil is able to support your plants and that they can thrive on it.  If you have crap soil amend it with compost and fertilizers.  

Make sure you are not wasting water.  A spray type irrigation sprinkler loses much of its water to evaporation spraying willy-nilly all over the place.  Direct the water at the base of the plants.  Drip emitters or soaker hoses work best.

Don’t try to grow the wrong plant in the wrong place.  Just because it is pretty in the store doesn’t mean it will stay pretty at your house.  Do the research.  Plants are expensive, take the time to find out if it will grow well in your zone.

Mulch, mulch, mulch.  Keep a nice thick layer of mulch in your beds.  Not only does it keep the soil from drying out it helps repel weeds.  My recommendation is minimum 4 inches deep.

Cut back on your lawn size.  Grass require an enormous amount of water and nutrients to grow nicely.  Perhaps replacing part of your lawn with a dry creek bed or a stepping stone pathway will reduce your watering/maintenance needs.

I hope you have learned a little something from today’s post.

Happy gardening!