Hey! Have you heard the word Xeriscape before?

It’s a way of gardening that's designed to reduce or eliminate the use of irrigation.

I’m not sure where you live, but for me, the last 2 growing seasons have had a bit of rain in the spring, then nothing all summer long.

This means I rely on my garden hose, sprinklers and prayer.

The Principles

The whole purpose of Xeriscape Gardening is to

Design to conserve water
Improve your soil
Reduce or eliminate lawns
Choose the right plants
Use efficient irrigation
Add mulch

Design to Conserve Water

Plant in larger beds with groupings of plants that shade the ground more. Include a mix of trees, shrubs and perennials for a layered look.

Avoid single plants that are exposed to the sun and wind with no protection.

Group plants together based on their watering needs. Use the most drought-tolerant plants on the tops of hills, slopes, south and west-facing exposures, in high winds and in full sun.

Group plants with higher water requirements as well. Place them in the low areas of your yard, on north and east-facing exposures and where drifts accumulate during winter to catch the moisture.

Improve your Soil

All gardens benefit from increased soil health. It improves water and nutrient-holding capacity!

You can improve your soil with the following material.

Compost: Bring in clean (weed-free) compost and work it into the ground. Compost is filled with all sorts of good organisms that plants love.
Compost also adds organic matter to the soil. This means you’ll have more moisture-holding capacity!
Manure: Manure is another great soil amendment. Be careful though! Make sure it’s had time to break down for a year or more. Fresh manure is very HOT!
By hot, I mean that it can be high in ammonia and salts that will burn your plants. Let fresh manure age so the ammonia and salts leach out from rain and snow.
Leaf Mold: Collect your leaves in the fall and either store them for spring use, compost them or directly incorporate them into your garden soil.
Mushroom Compost: If you live close to a mushroom farm, you’ll be able to access the spent straw for free or for minimal expense.
If you have to load it yourself, dig from the parts of the pile that looks the least like straw. This will have broken down the best.
Green Manure Crops: This is a technique where you seed your soil to a fast-growing crop (like barley or buckwheat), then till the crop and work the “green material” back into the ground.
Make sure to work it into the ground before it goes to seed!

Reduce or eliminate lawns

Lawns are huge water hogs. They will take all the water you give them and then still ask for more.

By reducing or eliminating sections of your lawn you can reduce your water use.

If you’re not able to take out your lawn completely, then decide which areas will have access to irrigation and which sections you will let go dormant during the heat of the summer.

Efficient Irrigation

Eliminating all irrigation is often impossible. So choosing the right irrigation for your yard becomes key!

Sprinklers that spray into the air are the least efficient way to water your garden. You will lose more water to the wind and evaporation than you'd expect. If you do use sprinklers, water in the early or later parts of the day when the wind is less and the sun doesn’t evaporate the water as quickly.

Drip or low-spray irrigation is extremely efficient. Lines can be added to garden beds and directed right at the base of your plants where it is needed.

Add Mulch

Mulch has 3 benefits.

Water conservation: It holds water in the soil longer. It prevents the sun and wind from drying out your flower bed.
Weed Control: By covering the soil, weed seeds have a harder time germinating. Meaning, you’re not disturbing the soil when weeding and exposing it to drying out.
Soil Improvement: Slowly over time, organic mulch breaks down and is incorporated into your soil. It also prevents erosion from wind and rain.

Types of Mulch

Organic: Grass clippings, shredding bark, wood chips, sawdust or wood shavings, evergreen needles and cones, straw or leaves
Inorganic: Landscape fabric, rocks or gravel

Choose the Right Plants

When it comes time to start looking at plant material, Native plants will always give you the best results. But that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate other plants.

Pay attention to the water requirements of plants in your reference books or plant nurseries. Choose plants that say drought tolerant.

Most plants that grown in full-sun will work well in your drought-tolerant gardens.

Incorporate more trees, shrubs and grasses into your beds. Once established these foundation plants will always need less water.

Some of my Favourite Drought Tolerant Plants

Trees & Shrubs

Acer ginnala - Amur Maple
Amelanchier alnifolia - Saskatoon Berry
Caragana - Sutherland Caragana (non-suckering)
Cotoneaster
Elaegnus angustifolia - Russian Olive
Juniperus - Junipers
Larix sibirica - Siberian Larch
Malus - Crabapple
Picea - Spruce (either White or Colorado)
Pinus - Pines (Lodgepole, Mugo, Scots, etc.)
Prunus - Nanking Cherry, Double flowering Plum, Russian Almond
Spirea trilobata - Three-lobed Spirea
Syringa - Lilac
Viburnum lantana - Wayfaring Tree

Perennials

Achillea - Yarrow
Anemone sylvestris - Snowdrop Anemone
Artemesia - Sage
Bergenia - Giant Rockfoil
Campanula - Bellfower
Dianthus - Maiden Pinks
Echinops - Globe Thistle
Grasses - Karl Forester, Elijah Blue Fescue, etc.
Gaillardia aristata - Blanket Flower
Hemerocallis - Daylily
Iris
Nepeta - Catmint
Paeonia - Peony
Salvia
Sedum
Solidago - Goldenrod
Thymus - Thyme

VInes

Clematis
Humulus lupulus - Hops
Lonicera x brownii - Dropmore Honeysuckle
Parthenocissum quinquefolia - Virgina Creeper

Bulbs

Lilium - Asiatic lily
Tulipa - Tulips

It’s all about learning

The beauty of gardening is that you are always learning. Gardens are forever evolving as well. Take what you have existing and slowly start converting sections over to Xeriscape.

My goal is over the next few years to get more and more of these principles into my garden. It’s not an overnight change, but little by little my garden can become more efficient.

What about you? Are you going to start working towards a more drought-tolerant garden?

Happy Gardening,

Heidi

Xeriscape Gardening: Gardening with Less Water