*IDEAorange

We came across this word in some read­ing and it’s mean­ing wasn’t clear. Time for a google search. Our dis­cov­ery — we knew the process but not the word.

This process xeriscap­ing, using less “thirsty” plants and land­scap­ing has come into greater use in the west where the con­ser­va­tion of water has become more acute. Yet look­ing at the parks and small squares in our city this sum­mer it seems like more care­ful plant­ing becomes more nec­es­sary. Our last rain, over two weeks ago saved us from drought con­di­tions. Yet, as we face another week of 90°+ tem­per­a­tures and only the small­est chance of rain we won­der how many shrubs and young trees will be lost.

It seems that even in east­ern cities we can begin look­ing at these meth­ods along with per­me­able walk­ways and pave­ment to use our rain­fall more wisely.

Here’s a link to some xeriscap­ing images.

from wikipedia:

Xeriscap­ing and xerog­a­r­den­ing refers to land­scap­ing and gar­den­ing in ways that reduce or elim­i­nate the need for sup­ple­men­tal water from irri­ga­tion. It is pro­moted in regions that do not have eas­ily acces­si­ble, plen­ti­ful, or reli­able sup­plies of fresh water, and is gain­ing accep­tance in other areas as cli­mate pat­terns shift.

Based on Seven Principles

1. Plan and design
2. Soil amendment
3. Effi­cient irrigation
4. Appro­pri­ate plant and zone selection
5. Mulch
6. Alternative/practical turf
7. Appro­pri­ate Maintenance