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Water-less Gardening: Saving Money with Xeriscape

Landscaping requires lots of irrigation, which hurts wallets and the environment. Grass lawns require as much as 10 gallons per square foot per year!  A small lawn at 30 feet by ten feet, 300 square feet, would consume 3,000 gallons of water a year. That’s a lot of water!

Xeriscape flowers. Image via Quadell on Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately there’s a way to show good taste in plant selection and landscape design, while still saving money on monthly water bills. Xeriscape landscape designs reduce water consumption by utilizing low water use plants. These low-water plants look beautiful and resist drought, so the landscaping looks great year round, even in the summer. Continue reading “Water-less Gardening: Saving Money with Xeriscape”

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Xeriscape: Water-Defying Landscaping

On a recent trip to Ojai, CA with family I noted something beautiful: desert landscaping in a raised planter bed lined with local boulders. The shopping center on West Ojai Ave., Hwy 150, incorporated the local horticulture as a design theme throughout the shopping center. It really worked for me.

Agave Attenuatta
Agave Attenuatta flowers. Also known as “Foxtail Agave”. Photo via Xemenendura on commons.wikimedia.org.

The crisp green Agave plants arranged in a harmony outside the store, and a subtle winter rain brought out the scent of maple from the deciduous trees overhead. The sharp yellow leaves speckled the ground and I noticed inlaid cast-metal leaves in the pavers, to remind guests and residents of this most regal autumn season’s dressings. The drizzle of rain didn’t detract from the dessert plants as one might expect, as the darkened soil enhanced the Agave’s color. Continue reading “Xeriscape: Water-Defying Landscaping”