Hot, dry and hot! That might describe your local weather as August descends upon us. Yards are looking a little scorched and water sources a little shallow around the edges. Might be a good time to think about how to conserve water usage for your yard despite the need for it!
Residential irrigation can account for almost 40% of total water usage. With droughts, water shortages and restrictions, how can our yards be designed to need and consume less water? In her book, Energy-Wise Landscape Design, expert landscape architect, Sue Reed, offers the following action steps and advice:
Action: Design gardens for least water demand
- Design a water-conserving lawn: Best way to reduce lawn watering is to get rid of some or even all of the lawn. Drastic thought for many, and by making sure the soil itself is loose so that the water can be b
etter absorbed is a first step whether you choose to reduce or not. Next, research and select a grass variety that is drought-tolerant and well-suited for your weather conditions. - Mulch all bare ground: By protecting the surface of the ground with some sort of mulch will help the soil hold onto the water and make it available over a long stretch of time.
- Establish watering zones: Arrange your landscape so that plants that need similar amounts of water are grouped together so that they can be watered during a single episode.
- Select low water use plants and shrubs that only need the water that comes naturally by rainfall in your geographic area.
Action: Manage runoff with topography
- Build level terraces in hillsides: If your home allows, a benefit of terraces is that will can diminish or eliminate soil erosion and keep water in place.
- Position gardens in relation to slopes: By being placed at the foot of the hill, the garden will help absorb runoff and of course, the plants will benefit from the extra water.
Action: Collect rainwater
- Collect rainwater actively: Collecting water via a rain barrel is a relatively easy way to offset this consumption and reduce your water bill at
the same time . Most barrels connect to the downspout, have a screen on the top to keep debris, bugs and mosquitoes out, and a spigot at the bottom to quickly fill up a watering can for use later on. - Collect rainwater passively: This involves creating ways for surface runoff to be concentrated and absorbed directly into the ground. Systems include infiltration basins, swales and rain gardens.
And if you must water, do so in the morning as in the late, hot afternoon, evaporation is more likely.
In the meantime, cool off with a slice of watermelon and check out Sue’s book for even more guidance on how to create an energy-efficient and environmentally sound landscape design.
Do you have any of these ideas in place? Any inspiration to make some changes? What works for you?
