Tuesday, October 16, 2007

XERISCAPING

This morning I read an article in the NY Times about the drought that is affecting almost the entire south eastern area of the United States. It is a scary prospect. Many communities are asking people not to use water for anything other than absolute necessities. We are facing some definite climate changes. As gardeners, we can be part of the problem, or we can do something about it.
There are so many gardeners, especially in areas that have a dearth of water, that really are part of the problem. Instead of choosing grasses and plants that can deal with less water, they choose water guzzlers, and then proceed to water them constantly. This is not helpful, and it gives gardeners a BAD NAME! Don't become one of them. If you ARE already falling into that category, try to figure out ways to change your concept of gardening.
Here's a definition you need to pay attention to:
xeriscaping (n. xeriscape)
Landscaping with the use of drought-tolerant plants, to eliminate the need for supplemental watering.
I will deal more with this topic over the next week, so try to familiarize yourself with the concept. It is NOT only for desert landscapes! We can all benefit from this, from the tiniest gardens to the largest. Join me in being part of the solution and NOT part of the problem!

2 Comments:

At October 19, 2007, Blogger Unknown said...

If you want to see another community in drought problems check out what is happening in South East Queensland.Australia. My home area.

http://www.target140.com.au/

http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/

There are some ideas and warnings that might be of interest to you.

 
At October 19, 2007, Blogger North Country Maturing Gardener said...

There are some great ideas at those sites. Thank you Bare Bones! We need to take all of that seriously. If we conserve now, it may take a bit longer before we get to your level of drought.

 

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