When people call or inquire about landscape design or extreme makeover ideas, they almost always say they would like to have a colorful, low-maintenance, water conserving landscape.
They may use the term Xeriscape, which indicates they are familiar with the concept of dry landscaping.
I respond by informing them you can have a water conserving landscape that provides colorful, four-season interest featuring a diverse range of plantings. After all, I am a horticulturist, and to me a landscape without plants is, well, a pretty desolate, lifeless one at best.
By the time I get onsite, if mention of removing a lot of turf and replacing it with gravel comes up, I clarify that a certain amount of turf might actually be OK, so a discussion on a desirable turf to mulch ratio ensues.
Keeping large areas of gravel debris free or weedless is nearly impossible even with landscape fabric underneath. It’s hard to dig persistent weeds out of 1½-inch sized gravel, and almost mandates that chemical weed killers be applied regularly. Most people now realize that herbicides are not the panacea once thought due to their detrimental effect on the health of humans, animals, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Turf areas can be reduced and replaced with larger garden beds and hardscapes, but you can also switch to a native grass like blue grama or buffalo grass if it fits in with the rest of the landscape. For a new bluegrass lawn, improving the soil by tilling in 3 cubic yards of compost is the best thing you can do. For established yards, aerating at least once a year in spring or fall when the ground is moist will help create a healthier, greener lawn.
Going Xeric may reduce your maintenance somewhat, but it will not totally eliminate it with regards to plants. Most nursery shrubs that have been breed for their special features require some sort of attention after four or more years, often in the way of a rejuvenation pruning to remove older branches or trunks. Perennials still need annual spring cleanups.
However, if we can let go of the concept of having a Better Homes and Garden looking landscape, then native plants can be used. While they look at home in their native setting, the tricky part is in aesthetically integrating them into an urban landscape. Drought tolerant native shrubs are useful in filling in outlying areas of our property as their winter appearance may seem slightly rangy. This way, you can also take advantage of their value in attracting wildlife.
Or, you can go totally native and while still using the tough shrubs as background plants, you can carefully draw the eye to the foreground with the use of boulders, ornamental grasses and colorful perennials.
As for water conservation, once an automatic irrigation system is set up, annual checks will help assure the water is going where it is needed and when.
Xeriscape’s seven principles will help conserve moisture and hopefully you’ll also have the additional benefit of reducing your landscape maintenance if attention is put toward the design, plant and mulch choices and other components.
Robyn Dolgin of Wild Iris Living offers consultations, designs and main- tenance for edible and ornamental landscapes, ranging from courtyards to small acreages. She can be reached at (970) 493-5681, robyn.dolgin@ gmail.com or WildIrisLiving. com.
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