California is currently in its 23rd year of severe drought. Across our region, shortages in water supply are being felt. Some of our most relied upon reservoirs are running low, communities are running out of water as wells dry up, and there is not foreseeable change in climate that would aid the growing water crisis

2022 started off with the driest four months on record in California, shrinking water supplies have led to restrictions on outdoor watering for millions of state residents – this is where it is up to each of us to do our part to ensure basic needs (such as water) are met. Introducing, Xeriscaping Your Lawn!

Xeriscaping simply put is efficiently using drought-tolerant plants and grasses to conserve water. The term Xeriscaping was coined by the Denver Water Department in 1981 by combining “landscape” with the Greek prefix “xero” meaning “dry.”

Did you know that OVER HALF of our portable water supply goes towards our lawn?!

We are encouraging all Caifornians to consider Xeriscaping their lawns to majorly reduce this number. We put together a few tips to Xeriscaping your lawn that are easy, inexpensive, and effective to saving water and helping our water crisis.

Tip #1: Pick Drought-Resistant Plants that also provide you with the aesthetic appeal you are seeking. Think different heights, shapes, and colors while also trying to seek out plants that thrive in your region, climate, and specific location in your yard (based on sunlight, and water available).

Tip #2: Install a Drip Irrigation System or other irrigation system that will help reduce water output while still maintaining what your plants need. Drought-resistant plants are still plants and will require some irrigation. Ensure you install a system that will allow you to control the water output.

Tip #3: Pick non-invasive plants that spread in order to reduce your costs of planting, xeriscaping with plants that spread by self-seeding, runners or division is an easy way to buy fewer plants to fill your space. Some examples of these plants would be; coneflower, sedum, bearded iris, salvia, lupine, Russian sage and bee balm.

Tip #4: Apply a thick layer of mulch to help hold in moisture, reduce weeds, increase soil quality, and increase aesthetic appeal. Our only note would be to make sure not to lay much down too close to plants that don’t like having too much moisture or water.

Tip #5: Incorporate Hardscapes with your drought-resistant plants. Hardscapes are hard landscape materials that are incorporated into the landscape design, think boulders, benches, arches, gazebos, pavers, fences, etc. Hardscapes do not not require water, add to an aesthetic design, and are low maintenance once installed.

California’s water crisis is here to stay and there are steps each of us can take to reduce our water footprint to ensure that everyone has the basic need of water available to them. If you have any questions about xeriscaping your lawn, please reach out to us! We would love to help you in any way we can.

As you are checking people off of your holiday checklist, don’t forget Mother Earth.

For $25/month you can adopt-a-tree and ensure a tree is not only planted but also is giving ongoing maintenance and care for the trees to ensure long term health.