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
Our late 2011 move to a beautiful, albeit neglected, 1.7 acre Southern California property was an eye-opener on water and waste. Five years of drought, 3 years of rationing, and multiple redos later, our 1-acre zone 10 gardens can now be described as sustainable and lush with a touch of whimsy. Thriving plants after this… Read More My plants
Check out recent articles below on the big picture of water and climate change. Then, for more motivation, dive deep into my favorite resources of a) blogs/web sites, b) books, c) governmental agencies/water utilities, d) non-profits/regional botanical gardens/horticultural organizations, and e) universities. “Earth Sets a Temperature Record for the Third Straight Year,” by Justin Gillis,… Read More Absorb articles of note
Aloes and agaves are admittedly awesome. So are the more unsung heroes of the water wise world such as aeoniums, echeverias, euphorbias, senecio, and graptopetulums. Not to mention graptoverias, crassulas, kalanchoes, and cotyledon. Often pigeonholed for containers, these 10 genera belong on the list of superb garden choices. The past year I planted 40 varieties… Read More Go beyond aloes and agaves
Since rationing began in our area in early 2014, I have micromanaged water. Each monthly allotment was half or less our use that same month in prior years, and I strove to meet that frightful figure. We began to budget and plan each area and each day, and, as this blog attests, made radical changes… Read More Rationing-when less is enough
As 2017 ushers in, I can’t help but reflect on the new way of waterwise gardening. After all, it’s the 6th year of drought here in Southern California and the 3rd year of mandatory rationing in our local district. And we are not alone in the need to conserve water in everything we do. Six… Read More New year, new way
Three cheers for aloes – they come in a range of sizes and shapes, flower on occasion, and need little water. They don’t die like agaves do after blooming, although they can get devastating aloe mites aka ‘cancer‘. Not counting tree aloes (one with trunks), my 3 favorites of 24 varieties currently in our garden… Read More My 3 favorite aloes
Our new youngsters above eat often and a lot. As time passes, we taper how much and how frequently we feed them to a fraction of what it is now. That’s normal pet practice. It may come as a surprise that this principle holds true for plants too. To render it explicit, diminish water gradually… Read More Wean plants based on age
Did a shovel slice a drip line? A rock or staple puncture the tubing? An expelled emitter or goof plug create a crater? A gopher or puppy chew the polyethylene? Two-way compression couplings pictured above work wonders to repair these too-big-to-plug holes. Designed to join 2 tubings to extend lines, couplings come in 1/2″ or… Read More How to fix a big drip line hole
Like most gardeners, “live and let live” was my mantra. Scarce water has mutated that to “live and let die so others can live.” Plants must pass my litmus tests of 1) Does this give sufficient value in return for water used? and 2) Would I buy that for there again? If not, I murmur… Read More Live and let die
Landscaping Water Wise 