An early ah-ha moment while transforming our garden’s water use was the realization that everything we did also decreased maintenance. I was reminded of that revelation last week as I read landscape designer Lauren Dunec Hoang’s superb “How to Design a Low-Maintenance Garden” houzz post. Hoang’s most common client request is for a low-maintenance garden.… Read More Cut maintenance AND water
I used to consider weeds ugly. Now in a dry climate, I consider them bad. There’s only so much water, and garden plants lose out in a contest with weeds. Survival has supplanted aesthetics as my impetus to weed. Contemplate a dandelion that produces 15,000 seeds, or purslane whose seeds persist in soil for 20… Read More Wage war on weeds
You view mulch as optional or boring? To quote Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Big. Huge.” No matter the climate zone or garden type, mulch is universally recommended. The stated context is as a ‘protective layer’ over soil and covered by plants. That is vital in dry climates, and so is its unheralded… Read More Revere mulch
Depending on water pressure and hose size, the average open hose uses in one hour almost as much as the average American family of four uses indoor in six days. Plants cannot use that much water. Like so many others, we used open hoses week in and week out. As I began to measure our… Read More Abolish open hoses
Landscaping Water Wise 