Binge-watch season of House of Cards? Or binge-read tomes on gardening in dry climates? Coupled with on-site research, my waterwise landscaping crash courses these past 2 years were fueled by scouring the internet, buttonholing experts, and attending classes. I digested Western and California books in my library, and drilled deep into 72 more. Aha moments… Read More Binge-reading revelations
Normally needing little if any irrigation, trees are easy to overlook as gardeners adapt to lack of water. Yet trees are inarguably gardens’ most important living elements, and a drought imperils their very existence. Job #1 should be to save trees, not water. Consider trees’ riches. Beyond their natural beauty, they reduce energy use by… Read More Remember the trees
OK, so we all know drought-tolerant plants are a sustainability winner. But do you know three other winners? These four distinctive strategies combine to optimize plant types and quantities, setting the course for water efficiency: Drought-tolerant plants Plant placement Water/square foot Plant removal It’s a mystery why only one of these four – drought-tolerant plants… Read More Four winning plant strategies
Dry-climate landscaping in general, amid a drought in particular, perpetuates a surprising number of myths and misconceptions. Ten of the most common ones are listed below, followed by the facts with links to more details. The sooner these myths are debunked, the sooner more gardens will become sustainable. Myth #1. The current weather pattern is… Read More Top 10 myths, dispelled
While most expert sources recommend extra emitters on thirstier plants, many claim a system’s emitters must all have the same flow rate. In fact, as I discovered last year, tailoring emitter number AND flow rate is a conservation and horticulture win-win. Plants, exposure, and soil vary markedly within residential irrigation zones. As WUCOLS III (Water… Read More Tailor emitter flow rates too
Plant removal is a savvy, albeit unorthodox, sustainability move. Some plants make you smile, and some bestow privacy or structure. Others take resources week in and week out, giving little in return. We have too little water for competing needs. That imbalance is analogous to too little income for clashing expenses, or too few hours… Read More Purge the garden
The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that landscape irrigation accounts for almost one-third of all residential water use, with families in dry climates such as the Southwest using twice that of their counterparts. Irrigating our lawns and gardens consumes nearly 9 billion gallons/day, of which an astonishing 50% is wasted due to inefficiency: The… Read More Water, water, where are you?
If you don’t know how to read the meter, learn. Or have someone else do it for you. A water meter is just like a bathroom scale, car speedometer, or checking account. The information displayed changes bad behavior, validates changes, and reinforces progress. Flawed habits and assumptions are exposed, replaced by facts. Wanting landscaping well-suited… Read More Read the meter and reap
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
Early 2014’s rationing to less than half our prior consumption was a turning point. Overnight I went from blissfully unaware of how we used water to resolutely committed to sustainable landscaping. Wanting a sound basis for tough decisions, I recalled life cycle assessment (LCA), a systematic evaluation of product stages from cradle to grave. I… Read More Follow the water
Landscaping Water Wise 