Many East Texas summers can be very tough on our landscapes. Record breaking heat
waves and extended droughts have taken a toll on lawns, shrubs and even tough, long-
lived trees. One lesson is very clear - that rainfall in the summer time can be very
sporadic, or even absent for very long periods of time, requiring regular supplemental
irrigation to keep thirsty lawns and plants alive.
Many communities have implemented water rationing when water delivery systems
could not meet demand, or water supplies fell short during prolonged periods
of drought. Outdoor watering is severely restricted or banned during these times,
creating hardships on water-thirsty landscapes.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a movement to promote the creation of water
smart landscapes, with concepts like Xeriscape Landscaping (tm) and Water Smart
being the most visible in Texas. These water saving landscaping concepts incorporate
several landscaping principles which help reduce the overall demand for irrigation
water to maintain landscaping, while at the same time promoting attractive, region-
specific yards that anyone would be proud to call their own.
Water-smart landscapes are not rock and cactus. Dr. Doug Welch, an Extension
horticulturist and proponent of Xeriscape landscaping, says a well-designed
Xeriscape landscape should look like it belongs in any popular home and gardening
magazine - in other words, a creative, beautiful solution to reducing the yard's need for
supplemental irrigation water.
You don't necessarily have to totally redo your yard to achieve substantial water
savings. Many simple ideas can be incorporated into existing landscapes. Major
renovations could take place over a period of several years. Basically, using good,
fundamental landscape design techniques will lead to not only an attractive yard, but
also to water savings. Let's look at some ways to design a water smart yard.
Start With a Good Design.
Every great landscape, whether consciously designed for water conservation or not,
starts with a well thought out plan laid out on paper. Begin with a survey of your
property's characteristics that affect both plant growth and development, and the
intended use of each main section of your property. This would include things like sun
and shade patterns during the day and throughout the year, drainage patterns and
slopes, desirable and objectionable views, areas needing privacy, etc.
A site plan can be easily created by gathering the dimensions of the property, house,
driveway, lot size, etc, and plotting all of these permanent features on graph paper.
This is called the base map. Using tracing paper over a scale rendering of your lot will
enable you to try various concepts and designs.
There are a couple of ways of looking at your yard. What is the intended or main
use of each area of the property? In many cases, most family activity takes place in the
back yard, while the front yard is more formal and functions to "dress up" the
appearance of the house, usually referred to as the public area which visitors most
often see. This might then inspire the question, is wall-to-wall turfgrass the best
approach for the front of the home if the turf is not often used for recreation or
other purposes? It is possible to design the public area to require less water and
maintenance without sacrificing appearance or quality.
The side yards on smaller lots often are not used at all except for passageways around
the home, or used for storage of tools, garbage cans, dog runs, and recreational
vehicles. Could these areas be modified and designed to reduce or eliminate the need
for supplemental irrigation? These areas are referred to as service area.
The back yard perhaps could be redesigned to accommodate a family's needs and
requirements, perhaps by adding a deck or enlarging a patio. This area is referred to
as the private area.
On tracing paper placed over the base map, indicate the public, private and service
areas.
One common theme in many Xeriscape gardens is that of zoning. This is the division
of the various areas of the property into 3 zones: low, moderate and high water use,
grouping plants in the landscape according to their water requirements. This prevents
over watering certain plants within an irrigation zone in order to take care of the water
needs other, more water-demanding plants. Of course, plants in each zone would also
have similar sun and other cultural requirements.
The high water use zone is for visible areas with high impact, like the front yard close to
the house, or areas close to frequent activity. This is the zone that needs regular
watering in the absence of rainfall. Annual color plants and other water-sensitive
plants predominate in this zone. In the moderate water use zone, established plants
require water only occasionally when they show symptoms of water stress. Many
shrubs and perennials will work in this zone. Plants in the low water use zone receive
no irrigation water and can survive on normal rainfall. There are a large number plants
which, once established will survive and grow well in a low water use zone.
Of course, all plants need special attention the first year after planting to become
established until they develop an extensive root system. These plants require regular
irrigation for several months after planting.
Using another piece of tracing paper, sketch different water use zones on the plan.
Within each zone you can now begin to draw different planting beds, and other
features. Use smooth, flowing curves for beds for the best appearance and ease of
maintenance. Once beds and other elements have been drawn, individual plants can
then be drawn into the plan based on the characteristics of the location and the cultural
needs of the plants.
Plant Selection. As you can see, all plants that are adapted to east Texas fit into a
water-smart landscape, whether native or not. Native plants are always a good choice
if they are adapted to the specific characteristics of your property and the particular
site. There are also many non-native plants which are Texas-tough. The key is to
match the plants with the micro climatic features of the site. Low or wet areas of the
landscape that cannot be modified can be designed to accommodate plants adapted
wet soils. Drought tolerant plants can be used in dry soils or windy areas.
Mulching. Any water-smart landscape will have mulch as a major component. All
plants benefit from a layer of organic mulch on the surface of the soil. Pine needles,
pine or cypress bark, compost and chopped leaves all help to preserve soil moisture by
dramatically reducing evaporation. Mulched soils are also cooler than unmulched soil,
reducing the ambient air temperature around the plants. And organic mulches add
nutrients and improve soil structure as they decompose, furthering the health of the
plants.
I have seen many very attractive landscapes where large mulched areas have taken
the place of lawns and ground covers, especially in heavily shaded areas where turf
struggles to grow. Organic mulches need to be renewed every year as they break
down.
Renovating an Existing Landscape. Since lawns require the most supplemental
irrigation water during the summer, it makes sense to limit the expanse of the lawn to
areas where it will be used and appreciated the most. For example, a home with grass
growing right up to a line of shrubs planted against the house in the front yard could be
redesigned by removing a portion of the lawn, expanding the bed to sweep out from the
house with graceful, curving lines, and planted with lower water demanding shrubs or
ground covers. Similar changes could be made in the private areas, along with
expanding existing patios with brick, wood or other surfaces.
Take another look at your yard, and consider how you can stretch one of Texas' most
precious resource - water!
Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with Texas Cooperative Extension. His web page "East Texas Piney Woods Gardening" address is: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith. Educational programs of Texas Cooperative Extension are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin.
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