Xeriscaping — Water Conservation In Landscaping

By Patricia Diaz, from the July 2003 Newsletter

Back in the early 1980s in Colorado, an idea was born that has taken hold all over the West. ‘Xeriscaping’ was the word coined by the Denver Water Department to describe how one could conserve water through creative landscaping. A well-designed xeriscape garden is attractive, water-thrifty, and surprisingly trouble-free to maintain. There are several principles of water-wise landscaping and this month we’ll discuss how this all works.

Xeriscaping can take place anywhere with careful planning. It doesn’t matter if you are starting from scratch or renovating, but you must plan what kind of plantings go where in your garden. Probably the most important part of the planning involves creating different ‘water zones’ and choosing the plants that will fit there. For instance, don’t plant things that need more water with plants that, once established, don’t need watering at all in the summer.

Limiting turf areas is another important principle of xeriscaping. Limit the size of your lawn since it takes an enormous amount of water (plus all that energy to make it grow only so you can mow it down). Instead, plant buffalo grass, which is not only drought-tolerant but quite attractive.

Choosing appropriate plants is the next step. You will want definite xeric plants for the hot, dry south- and west-facing areas, and plants that like a little more moisture on the north- and east-facing slopes and walls. Definitely do NOT mix plants with high and low watering needs in the same planting area.

In our clay-soil area, you are going to have to amend the soil. Add lots of organic matter and consider the addition of sand and peat moss as well. You want soil that is loose and fast-draining, since that encourages plants to root deeply, away from the desiccating heat at the soil’s surface. Organic matter also helps hold extra moisture. Mulching will also capture rainwater by allowing the hard rains of summer to soak into your soil instead of running off into the street or your drainage areas.

When you irrigate, do so efficiently with soaker hoses and drip irrigation. This deep watering will encourage deeper root growth and save water. You may still have to water your xeriscape garden in the hottest part of the summer when rain hasn’t fallen for more than two weeks, and during the first year things are planted.

Now comes the fun part – what plants work best for xeriscaping. You can create four seasons of color, too, by choosing those that turn different shades in the winter snow.

One fun plant is the Ice plant. (I can’t believe I’m even saying that dreaded word. Anyone from the coastal areas of southern California knows how awful that stuff is down there – you cart off truckloads of it every spring because it takes over the yard!) But rest assured, because we have cold winters, ice plant is a NICE plant and behaves here. The foliage of the Delosperma nubigenum turns a neat burgundy in the winter and has succulent, lime-green foliage in the spring and summer with bright yellow daisy-like flowers.

Another great plant is catmint (Nepeta x faassenii), which has fragrant purple flowers in early summer with gray-green foliage. This happens to contrast nicely with all the rest of the regular green foliage. English lavender with its fragrant lavender-blue flowers is another favorite for xeriscaping. Penstemons, beloved by hummingbirds, are also water-wise, especially the ‘desert beard tongue’ (Penstemon pseudospectabilis) and ‘sunset’ (Penstemon clutei) varieties. Other plants that are water thrifty include anemones or Greek windflowers (especially Anemone blanda ‘Blue Star’), soapwort (Saponaria ocymoides), helianthemums or sunroses (Helianthemum nummularium ‘Wisley Pink’), and Turkish speedwell (Veronica liwanensis). You can also interplant bulbs like iris, daffodils, tulips, crocus, etc. as they don’t need water during the summer.

There are a number of resources for xeriscaping. One is Colorado’s xeriscape Web site. Two books that are useful are Xeriscape Plant Guide (Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, CO 1999) and The Xeriscape Flower Gardener (Johnson Books, Boulder, CO 1991). Check out High Country Garden’s catalog for great xeriscaping ideas and plants. And don’t forget to check local nurseries, and in front of the Co-op, as all carry many varieties of plants suitable for xeriscape landscaping.

Pat Diaz loves the idea of maintenance-free gardening and has long advocated xeriscaping. Right now she’s waiting anxiously for her lavender to bloom there in the high country by Dworshak.

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