There are seven essential components of xeriscaping:
1) Appropriate Planning and Design
All yards have miniature climatic zones created by buildings, trees and shrubs, and features like hills and valleys. Mapping these microclimates helps you plan a xeriscape. Unshaded areas on south- and west-facing slopes and in front of south and west walls are typically hot and dry; they are also a zone warmer during the winter. Areas along north- and northeast-facing walls are cooler and moister. Trees provide shade, and walls, buildings, and shrubs serve as windbreaks. Yards also have different water zones. When laying out a design for your landscape planting, try to group plants by water needs. By putting plants in specific zones based on their water needs, you can create a water-efficient landscape. Put the native and most drought-tolerant plants in the hottest, driest zone. Create low water-use zones by taking advantage of protected areas closer to the house and places where water collects naturally. Fill these areas with species that need only a little supplemental water. Keeping water-use zones and their respective plants separate will simplify maintenance. If an extended dry spell endangers some of your plants, a sprinkler may be set to irrigate an isolated area rather then the entire landscape.
2) Minimal Turf Areas
Kentucky bluegrass needs 40 inches of water annually. Instead of covering large spaces in lawn because that is what you have always done, consider reducing the size of your lawn to what is needed for your favourite activity. Play areas can be planted in one of the fescue blends or in buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) in certain areas, both of which need less water and less mowing than bluegrass. Replacing less trafficked areas of a lawn with drought-tolerant ground covers, flowers, small trees and decorative boulders can increase its beauty as well as its water efficiency.
3) Appropriate Soil Preparation and Analysis
Improve your soil with rich compost to maintain a healthy soil and enable it to better absorb water. First, find out what your soil needs, then add it as needed. Have the soil analyzed rather than automatically mixing in fertilizers and amendments it may not require; for instance adding wood ashes (which make soil more alkaline) to what might already be an alkaline soil. What you added in one location may not be what a new location requires. Remember, as well, that some native plants prefer not to have too rich a soil. For these plants, doing as little as loosening the soil may be all the soil preparation you need.
4) Appropriate Plant Selection
Using native and other drought-tolerant plants may mean rethinking your selections, but it doesn't mean relinquishing beauty. Many native plants have evolved to survive extreme weather and drought as well as to attract pollinating birds and bees. Trees and shrubs are other types of plants that require very little water once established and also provide shade to keep things cooler. The soil balls of trees should be kept well-watered for the first growing season. After that they need little water, unless they are in a difficult site such as the middle of a parking lot or a small strip between the sidewalk and street. Drought-tolerant ground covers are indispensable to a xeriscape. They hold moisture in the soil and soften the look of a garden. Certain thymes, for example, choke out weeds, produce lavender flowers in midsummer, and can withstand light foot traffic.
5) Efficient Irrigation
For beds and lawn that need water in addition to rainfall, the key is to irrigate efficiently; knowing how much water to use, where to apply it, and during which season or time of day it will do the most good. Water for longer periods less often. Deep, infrequent watering protects plants during drought by encouraging deep root systems. With infrequent watering the roots stretch down to acquire the water they need from the moisture which lies deep in the soil. With frequent watering, the roots remain shallow because of readily available water at the surface. During droughts deep roots are able to use the water lying deep in the soil, whereas shallow roots dry out. Grading or terracing in areas with slopes promotes water efficiency by directing water toward or through planting beds.
6) Appropriate Use of Mulches
Organic mulches minimize evaporation, keep roots cool, reduce weeds, slow erosion and add nutrients to the soil. Mulches such as straw, shredded leaves, bark chips or nuggets can be used. Mulching with flat rocks and flagstones in garden beds will cool the ground and serve as stepping-stones to those hard to reach spaces.
7) Proper Maintenance
Xeriscapes are low maintenance, but no garden is totally maintenance-free. Properly timed mowing, fertilizing, pruning, pest control and weeding will keep your xeriscape healthy and beautiful. Keeping your irrigation system in good repair will save you money and plants, which may be getting too much or too little water.
Following the above fundamentals of xeriscaping will allow you to enjoy the attractive, economical and time-saving results for years to come, as well as contribute to the health of our environment.
Julie Ferraro
E-mail: ferrafam@bconnex.net
