On Earth Day and beyond, implement some the following landscape tips for water saving garden design.
1. Be conscientious with your sprinklers:
Staying on top of your irrigation is always important, but it’s crucial in a drought. Overwatering is unnecessary, and easy to avoid. 30% of the average American family’s water use is devoted to lawns and gardens, so turning the sprinklers off when it rains can really add up quickly. When it isn’t raining, water in the early hours of the morning to reduce evaporation.
2. Catch rainwater and air conditioner condensation with stylish rain catcher planters:
There are so many stylish rain catchers now, that double as storage tanks and planters! They have thought of everything – spigots make it easy to attach a watering hose, and the back is usually flat to maximize space if you’re placing the catcher against a wall (think: next to the air conditioner to catch condensation.) Here is a charming 65-gallon product that I love! You could be harvesting rainwater all over the yard without anyone ever knowing it!
3. Replace portions of grass with gravel:
Remove portions of your grass and install gravel or decomposed granite, surrounded by shade canopy trees. The design possibilities with this additional outdoor entertaining space are endless! Create a gravel sitting area with tables and chairs, or turn a blank canvas into a relaxing retreat with benches, pillows and throws. With your feet up and a margarita in hand, you won’t miss grass at all.
4. Plant drought-tolerant items such as rosemary, lavender and Little Ollie shrubs:
Contrary to popular belief, succulents aren’t the only plants that are drought-tolerant. Fragrant herbs like rosemary and lavender are not only beautiful, but extremely water-conscious! For fantastic border plants, Little Ollie shrubs are a compact-growing and clean shrub that requires very little attention or water.
5. Add a rain gutter catch basin to your rain gutters:
Add a rain gutter catch basin to your rain gutters, redirecting rainwater to a drought-tolerant herb garden or storage tank. There are very discreet underwater storage tanks that hold quite a bit of water, and are completely out of sight. There are also slim, wall-mounted tanks that can run alongside walls and fences. Attach a hose and water your yard with pride knowing that you are doing something great for the world.
6. Keep a pitcher or bucket by the sink, and collect greywater to keep potted plants looking bright:
There’s no need to get rid of your favorite potted plants if you work a little harder for the water needed to irrigate them! It’s surprising how much greywater we produce without realizing it. To see what I mean, keep a pitcher or bucket by the kitchen sink (or better yet – every sink in the house), and collect excess water over just one day. Save the water that usually goes the drain while you wait for the faucet to warm up, and add the water used to rinse fruit and vegetables. Even water leftover in drinking glasses and water bottles can be collected. At the end of the day, you’ll feel so accomplished giving this saved, repurposed water back to Mother Earth, that you’ll want to continue your crusade! And, you can keep your favorite potted plants looking beautiful, minus the guilt!
Even if your entire garden is drought-tolerant, if you have a leaking pipe or hose, you’re wasting water. A great way to check for leaks is to check your water meter at the beginning of a two-hour window of no water use, and then check again at the end of the two hours. If the number is different, you have a leak.
7. Add mulch around trees and plants:
Mulch discourages weed growth, minimizes water runoff, and retains moisture. Adding a few inches of compost or mulch around trees and plants will help slow the evaporation of moisture, and give your garden plenty of time to take a long drink of water! Mix mulch with all of your soil to encourage moisture retention in the entire yard!
8. Install a drip irrigation system:
Drip irrigation systems save 50% more water than sprinklers, with little to no water loss from runoff or evaporation. Drip irrigation systems can be installed anywhere from large yards to individual planters. You have total control over the amount of water supplied to each designated area, and it works wonderfully with mulched areas, thoroughly soaking the moisture-retaining mulch without getting any runoff.
9. Think about the Bees & their needs!
Bees pollinate one-third of everything we eat, and we’re seeing fewer of them every day due to climate change and habitat loss. They pollinate all kinds of fruit and vegetables, such as broccoli, apples, almonds and squash. Indirectly, bees contribute to our meat resources by foraging crops like beans and clover, used to feed livestock. Bees need flowering plants and herbs to thrive, and with the popularity of suburban lawns and the destruction of native landscapes, bees are rapidly disappearing. Encourage bee production by planting flowering trees and clover in your yard or in planters, and avoid chemically treating plants and flowers, since chemicals can negatively affect a bee’s system. Bees like volume in their flowers, so plant plenty of the same type of bloom together. A few good examples are lilacs, lavender, sage, wisteria, and verbena. These are beautiful plants with a purpose!
10. Plant a tree (or two!)
Scientists estimate there are about 200 billion tons of excess CO2 in the atmosphere, and planting a single tree eliminates one ton of CO2 every year. Planting a tree is not only good for nature and for the battle against global warming, it’s good for us, too. In one year, a single acre of mature trees can provide enough oxygen for 18 people, and trees help keep cities about 10 degrees cooler, releasing water vapor into the air and breaking up urban hot spots. Shade from trees slows water evaporation, and surprisingly, most new trees only need 15 gallons of water per week. Surround your home with tree after tree, and enjoy the benefits that trees provide while also giving back to Mother Nature.
Try one or more of these water saving garden design ideas as part of your landscape upgrade and enjoy the beauty and sustainability they provide.
