Gardening during drought – Native plants can help!
Every summer, the rains stop. Most natives can handle that fine. After all, with our Mediterranean climate, that’s what they’re adapted to (except the streamside species).
But what about a true drought, when not only summer rains are scarce, but fall, winter, or spring rains are also slight? These droughts come and go, and always come again. So whether you are on EID water, a well, or another water source, waterwise gardening matters, even here in the foothills. Gardens often take more than half of our home’s water use, and we need to do all we can to use our limited water resources wisely. Gardening with native plants can be a wonderful way to save water and sail through current or future droughts.
And say, do you really NEED a lawn? Consider your water usage!
Lawns are great for soccer teams and croquet. But often, the majority of time homeowners spend on their lawns is spent mowing, fertilizing, and spraying them!
So just do it! Ditch Your Lawn! Discover reasons and resources for removing turf here.
“Reducing the size of your lawn can benefit the environment while saving you time, energy, and expense. And the result need not be a loss in aesthetic appeal.” —EarthEasy
“Most of the grasses used in U.S. lawns aren’t native to the area they are grown; many of the species come from the East; Kentucky bluegrass, for example. A lawn isn’t a big deal in the northeast, but when you recreate that same landscape out West, it becomes a major ecological issue because the only way to grow those grasses is with high use of water and nitrogen.” —NASA Earth Observatory
