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Landscaping Water Wise

Tag: waterwise gardening

Live and let die

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

October 21, 2016January 26, 2017 Patti Prairie

When a tree falls…

Fierce winds toppled our 36” diameter, 100-year-old, double-trunked live oak last week. The massive tree grazed smaller live oaks as it fell, crushed 3 Prunus ilicifolia ssp lyonii, stripped the leaves off 5 Plumbago auriculata ‘Imperial Blue,’ and shredded 6 Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue.’ Where nature’s Rip-Van-Winkle-esque miracle had graced our outdoor living area, a… Read More When a tree falls…

May 10, 2016January 27, 2017 Patti Prairie1 Comment

Save with benches

Garden benches are prized as places to relax, focal points, and landscape design unifiers. Let me champion their conservation potential too. Witness data for our 4 benches. Consumption is zero for the 700 square feet of hardscape or mulch in front and under them. By contrast, that space done as usual in grass consumes 4,500… Read More Save with benches

April 19, 2016January 27, 2017 Patti Prairie1 Comment

Binge-reading revelations

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

March 5, 2016March 8, 2016 Patti Prairie

Wage war on weeds

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

March 2, 2016March 7, 2016 Patti Prairie

My favorite resources

When rationing raised its ugly head in early 2014, I realized how little I knew about our new California home. Even with my prior 7 years on climate change solutions, until that moment our local water use, the yin and yang of droughts and floods, and centuries of water shortage were not my turf. Armed… Read More My favorite resources

January 31, 2016January 27, 2017 Patti Prairie5 Comments

Recent Posts

  • Plants: Play it risky or safe?
  • Hardscape: count its blessings
  • Fire lessons learned
  • 50 shades of gray after fire
  • Water when?
  • Customize time & frequency
  • Grass be gone #5
  • Snap and see
  • Get hooked on succulents
  • Rains, reservoirs, drought
  • Cut maintenance AND water
  • My plants
  • Absorb articles of note
  • Go beyond aloes and agaves
  • Rationing-when less is enough
  • New year, new way
  • My 3 favorite aloes
  • Wean plants based on age
  • How to fix a big drip line hole
  • Live and let die
  • Fight the ‘freebies’ urge
  • Offset drip’s downsides
  • Now you sedum, now you don’t
  • Channel your inner Sherlock
  • What’s in a name?
  • Firewise…is…waterwise
  • Reform lawn irrigation
  • Too much, too little, just right?
  • Cycle and soak gardens
  • 5 years and counting
  • When a tree falls…
  • My 3 favorite shrubs
  • Save with benches
  • A world of waterwise choices
  • My 3 favorite agaves
  • Grass be gone #4
  • Seeing is believing
  • Control the controller
  • My 3 favorite low hedges
  • Binge-reading revelations
  • Wage war on weeds
  • Data worth a thousand words
  • My top 10 waterwise tools + 2
  • Revere mulch
  • Squander on the grass
  • My favorite resources
  • Remember the trees
  • Rethink groundcover
  • Four smart sleuthing skills
  • Four winning plant strategies
  • Six stages of adaptation
  • Grass be gone #3
  • Top 10 myths, dispelled
  • Say no to goof, yes to smart
  • Grass be gone #2
  • Tailor emitter flow rates too
  • Purge the garden
  • Stop irrigation leaks
  • Choose wise plants wisely
  • Water, water, where are you?
  • Control the slopes
  • Calculate drip intake
  • Grass be gone #1
  • Gauge plants by water/sq. ft.
  • Do less to get more
  • Read the meter and reap
  • Yesterday, today, tomorrow
  • Pack it in when plants die
  • Abolish open hoses
  • Nix spaghetti connectors
  • Follow the water
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Latest Photos

Pisonia umbellifera 'Variegata' - Map Plant
Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ – Map Plant
formerlycarex
Formerly grass, now Aloe hercules and aloe rubroviolacea
Formerly grass, now Aloe hercules and aloe rubroviolacea
tiered garden southwest of house
tiered garden southwest of house
Agave attenuata 'Ray of Light'
Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’
formerly grass, now log bench and small terrace along upper level path
formerly grass, now log bench and small terrace along upper level path
Agave 'Blue Glow' - formerly carex
IMG_4497
looking down at lower level knot garden that was formerly grass
looking down at lower level knot garden that was formerly grass
Callistemon 'Jeffers' - Purple Bottlebrush, Portulacaria afra - Elephant's Food, and Artemisia 'Powis Castle' - Wormwood
Callistemon ‘Jeffers’ – Purple Bottlebrush, Portulacaria afra – Elephant’s Food, and Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ – Wormwood
Phormium 'Guardsman' - Guardsman New Zealand Flax - and Max
Phormium ‘Guardsman’ – Guardsman New Zealand Flax – and Max
Looking up from lower level
Looking up from lower level
Little stone man
Little stone man
Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' - Whale's Tongue Agave
Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ – Whale’s Tongue Agave
sacred circle
sacred circle
formerly grass, now Dudleya brittonii in succulent knot garden
formerly grass, now Dudleya brittonii in succulent knot garden
Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue', Dasylirion wheeleri, and Agave franzosinii
Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’, Dasylirion wheeleri, and Agave franzosinii
Aloe speciosa - Tilt-head Aloe and Bougainvillea ‘Orange King’
Aloe speciosa – Tilt-head Aloe and Bougainvillea ‘Orange King’
Formerly grass, now knot garden
Formerly grass, now knot garden
formerly grass, now stone bench terraced into hillside
formerly grass, now stone bench terraced into hillside
Kate on steps to upper level - formerly grass
Entrance garden
Entrance garden
pathtosacredcircle
Formerly Ceonythus Yankee Point, now as of Nov. 2016 Rhagodia spinescens, Coprosma kirkii 'Variegata', Yucca linearifolia, Graptopetalum paraguayense
Formerly Ceonythus Yankee Point, now as of Nov. 2016 Rhagodia spinescens, Coprosma kirkii ‘Variegata’, Yucca linearifolia, Graptopetalum paraguayense
looking up from flat area's knot garden that was formerly grass to tiered slope garden
looking up from flat area’s knot garden that was formerly grass to tiered slope garden
formerlyuppergrass
Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'
Salvia leucantha ‘Midnight’

Tags

agave climate change connector conservation controller settings drip intake drip irrigation drip line dripper drought drought-tolerant drought-tolerant shrub emitter evaporation fertilizer flow rates gallons garden garden hose gardening for slopes garden maintenance global warming goof plug grass grass removal ground cover groundcover hose nozzle irrigation irrigation controller irrigation leaks landscaping Lawn lawn removal leak maintenance mulch plantings plants pruning rationing run frequency run time slope gardening soil moisture spaghetti spaghetti connector spray irrigation succulent succulents sustainability sustainable sustainable garden sustainable gardening sustainable gardens sustainable plants terrace garden tree watering tubing turf removal water-wise water conservation water consumption water loss water meter water needs water scarcity water shortage water use water waste waterwise waterwise gardening waterwise shrub weed weed control
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