What is Xeriscaping and How Can Your Home Benefit?

Are you thinking about redoing the landscaping in your yard? Are you concerned about water use? Are you interested in saving money on your water and lawn maintenance bills? Would you like to spend less time maintaining your yard and more time doing other things? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions then you should strongly consider xeriscaping some or all of your yard.

What is Xeriscaping?

Xeriscaping is a landscaping practice that encompasses seven basic principles. These seven principles are:

Planning and design
Soil analysis
Practical turf areas
Appropriate plant selection
Efficient irrigation
Use of mulches
Appropriate maintenance

Using these seven principles can dramatically reduce the amount of water that your yard requires, while also saving you time and money on maintenance. Xeriscaping is NOT zeroscaping! You may have heard of zeroscaping before and be thinking "I don't want a yard full of rocks and cactus!" Xeriscaping is not about removing all plant life from your yard. Instead, the idea is to incorporate climate appropriate plants and to group plants by their water requirements. By making intelligent choices about what you want to grow and how you arrange things, you can create stunning, attractive landscapes that will increase the value of your home while at the same time, save you money on your watering and maintenance bills!

How Do I Get Started?

Using the seven principles as a guide, create a vision for what you want. How much grass do you want to maintain? What sort of activities do you envision taking place in the areas you plan to xeriscape? Do you want to incorporate some energy saving shade trees in your yard, or create wind breaks to protect your home from strong winter or summer wind? Having a well conceived plan will allow you to get the most of your efforts and, if you are planning to have a landscape professional assist or implement your vision, it will simplify communication of your ideas. The other benefit of a good plan is that you can implement your design overtime. If you don't have the funds to do everything at once, break your plan up into phases and tackle what you can as time and money permit. Choosing appropriate plants is a critical component of xeriscaping. Fortunately, you can use the internet to do a lot of this research yourself. You can also consult the Agriculture Extension of your state's university system. They will be able to recommend a variety of plants and grasses, both native and exotic, which will work with your design.
Conclusion

Xeriscaping is a excellent way for you to improve the value of your home, save money, and reduce maintenance time. You can make a positive impact regarding water issues in your community and be an example to others in your neighborhood. If you are planning a landscape redesign for your home, consider xeriscaping as a practical and environmentally sound alternative to a traditional lawn.