Xericscaping is a form of gardening that reduces the need for any kind of supplemental water from irrigation, and it’s an increasingly popular option in areas where fresh water supplies are limited such as the southwestern United States. The term was first coined in 1981 and literally means “dry landscaping”. It consists of reducing your water needs by having gravel yards rather than grass lawns and growing drought-resistant plants such as cacti.
Advantages
There are many advantages to xeriscaping your yard. The best advantage for many people is that you’ll save money in the long term. You’ll save money because you’ll only have to water your plants in extreme cases, and you’ll also save money by not having to buy a lawn mower or the gasoline that it needs to run. No mowing also means that it’ll take much less time and effort to keep your yard looking great.
Xeriscapes are also more visually appealing than many traditional landscape designs with plants such as aloe vera, Mexican bird of Paradise plants and vividly colored ornamental grasses that use less water. A xeriscaped yard will also survive when watering restrictions are imposed while more traditional lawns go brown and die. Finally, these lawns are better for the environment since they conserve needed water, which means it can be used for more important things such as drinking.
Disadvantages
There are also some disadvantages with xeriscaped yards. Even though they’re cheaper in the long term, they can be expensive to plan. They’re also less useful than traditional lawns for outdoor activities due to the gravel or woodchips that are used. These materials can also hurt or cut people who fall onto them or walk over them on bare feet. The plants themselves, especially cacti or agave, can also hurt people or animals who touch them. Xeriscapes could also be unpopular with your neighbors because they look so different, but this isn’t usually a problem in certain parts of the country. Certain plants such as eucalyptus and the ornamental grasses can also worsen wildfire conditions.
If you think that a xeriscaped yard is right for you, then you can start by drawing a design of your current landscape on graph paper. Once you’ve done so, you can determine what kind of yard is right for you. You should then improve your soil according to the needs of your plants, and this can mean switching to gravel-based soil for certain plants. If you plan to have turf areas, keep them separate from the rest of your plants since they need to be watered a little more than a cactus.
Whatever you choose, a properly xeriscaped yard should be watered by hand or a sprinkler system. If you water by hand, avoid a sprinkler that throws water into the air, which would waste it. If you use a sprinkler system, then don’t water between 10 A.M and 6 P.M to avoid water loss, and you should also make sure to adjust the sprinkler’s settings periodically to allow for changing weather patterns. You should get a rain sensor installed to keep the sprinkler from kicking on when it rains.
American Tree Masters LLC is a full-service tree trimming and removal company in Gilbert, Arizona.