Optimizing Your Garden for Drought or Water Conservation

Living in Colorado and being a gardener has been rather stressful in the

past few years, as this state has been undergoing a rather severe drought.

The city is imposing watering restrictions which are not giving enough

water to lawns and plants. I’ve had to renovate my garden to make it more

water efficient. Now, because of the techniques I’ve employed, I’m the

only one in my neighborhood with a garden that isn’t completely brown. So

if you live in an area that is going through a drought or if you just want

to save water, I suggest you use some of these techniques as well.



First, I took out all my plants. The soil I was using didn’t retain water

very well, so I had to water about twice as much as necessary in order to

get it to actually absorb into the roots. If you have this same problem,

you can fix it by loading the soil up with lots of compost. This not only

prevents water from escaping, but encourages the plant’s roots to be

healthy and able to survive more.



Once I was done optimizing the soil for my new low water consumption plan,

I was ready to replace all my plants. I decided that the placement of all

my plants would reflect the amount of water necessary to keep them alive.

All the plants that don’t require much water I placed in on one side of my

garden, and then just progressed in the amount of required water to the

other side of the garden. As a result of my new arrangement, I don’t have

to waste water on plants that don’t need it as much.



The installation of a drip irrigation system was another move on my part

that reduced the amount of water I needed to fully water my garden. The

great thing about these systems is that they constantly drip into your

plants, so that every single drop is absorbed. With traditional watering

systems, usually the roots get too overwhelmed with the sheer amount of

water in the soil. Thus, lots just seeps right past. This is all taken

care of with the drip system.



If you still seem to need more water than you can supply to your garden,

you might consider which plants you could replace with less water

dependent plants. If you want a good shrub that doesn’t use up more than

its share of water, look for Heavenly Bamboo. It is not only tolerant of

droughts, but looks rather decorative in any garden. Herbs such as

rosemary are useful in preparing meals, and are rarely thirsty.



If you’re trying to find flowers that will still be lush and beautiful

despite the lower amounts of water, look for penstemon varieties like

Garnet, Apple Blossom, Moonbeam, and Midnight. You can attract

hummingbirds and butterflies with varieties like Cosmos and Yarrow. The

best part about all these plants is that they don’t look rugged and

withstanding, but they sure are. Your neighbors wont be saying “Look at

them, they downgraded their plants just to withstand the drought. What

chumps!” Instead they will be marveling over how you keep your flowers so

beautiful in the midst of the watering regulations.



One of my favorite drought resistant plants is the Lavender plant. I could

go on for pages about it. A large group of Lavender plants looks

unbelievably gorgeous in your garden, and hardly requires any water to

flourish. Pineapple sage is another personal favorite. It is a 2+ foot

shrub that smells strangely of pineapple. It’s another major attracter of

hummingbirds, and the leaves are also useful to add taste to drinks.



So if you are in the position I was, and you’re dealing with a drought and

perhaps watering regulations, I suggest you try some of the things I’ve

mentioned. Even if you’re just trying to conserve water or be generally

more efficient with it, I think you’ll still be able to benefit.

Using Xeriscaping to Save Time and Water

While having a full fledged garden is rewarding and enjoyable, lots of

people simply don’t have the time that is required to maintain it. Whether

you have too much going on at work or too many kids to take care of, you

should never try to operate a garden if you don’t think you can handle it.



For those people who are just too busy for a normal garden, I would

suggest a somewhat recent method of gardening known as Xeriscaping. This

minimal yet stylish theory first emerged in Colorado when water levels

were at an all time low. It is a great method of having a great looking

yard or garden, without having to maintain it or water it very often at

all.



Here in Colorado, many places are offering free Xeriscaping lessons in

order to encourage the conservation of water. If your area is undergoing a

drought, you should check with the water suppliers and see if they are

offering lessons. If you attend those, you will be able to get advice

specific to your region (IE types of plants to grow, how much to water

them, etc).



To some, the name Xeriscaping conjures the image of a yard that consists

of a giant rock bed. However, this is known as “zero scaping”, and it is a

considerably different concept. It focuses on reducing your yard to

nothing that requires any maintenance whatsoever. Unfortunately this is

usually just rocks. But this shouldn’t be your goal. While keeping

maintenance at a minimum, it is still possibly to retain a nice looking

yard that won’t attract the negative attention of everyone who passes by.



This might sound like it would be hard to implement without making your

yard into a hideous mess, but this is not so at all. The theory basically

involves choosing plants which are low maintenance to begin with, then

putting them each in environments that are ideal. It is usually applied by

figuring out what side of the house to place it on to get the best amount

of shade, and figuring out how to group it with plants with similar water

needs.



To get started in your Xeriscaping renovation, you first need to pick out

all the plants you will be using. They should for the most part require a

low amount of water. This doesn’t mean you can only grow cactuses in your

yard. Just cut back on the really thirsty plants that you have to water

every day to keep alive. You’ll want to stick with local plants for the

most part, and don’t go with anything too exotic as these generally

require larger amounts of water.



The second most important principle of xeriscaping is placing the plants

in ideal areas. If you place them all together with plants that require

essentially the same amount of water, then you will end up saving lots of

water. Also place the plants in areas where they will be protected from

wind or excessive sun, depending on the needs of the plants. Xeriscaping

is almost the same thing as microclimating, just with more of a focus on

adaptation to harsh conditions rather than avoiding them. So if it sounds

good to you and you’re looking to save time and water by renovating your

garden, you should look for xeriscaping lessons.