How Can You Have Grass & Tree Landscaping in a Very Dry Environment and Be Ecologically Responsible?
We live in the desert – it rains little and it’s incredibly hot & dry in the summer. I’m SICK of desert landscaping. Cactus & rock. BLAH.
I want a LOT of grass & trees as well. Can we landscape this way AND make it "green"? I don’t want a guilt trip for a lawn.
I beleive we are (gardening) Zone 8.
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Tagged with: amp • Blah • Desert Cactus • desert landscaping • Dry Environment • gardening zone • grass • Grass Tree • guilt trip • Hot • landscape • Landscaping Rock • Lot • Trees
Filed under: Your Garden Q and A
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If it is contrary to what is native for your area, it is NOT ecologically sound. You are contravening the environment and sometimes that is necessary for your well being. Just don’t do something that affects the land beyond your boundaries.
Border your garden with Bougainvillea or other dense foliage flowering shrubs to protect it from drying out in the wind. It also protects your garden from prying eyes who don’t understand, or would snitch your flowers.
Then go to the local garden shops and see what they offer for your area. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new plants. If they don’t grow, you will be no worse off than you are now.
Drip irrigation for lawns will not work in the desert unless you are wanting only a 6 inch circle of grass around the emitter. Drip will work well for shrubs and flowers in a small circle.
Use drip irrigation instead of sprinklers. That way the water gets to the plant and grass roots and not into the air where it will just evaporate. You will still have a high water bill. Grass is not very compatible to the desert.
no sorry the grass will not grow in the desert
1. you can have the grass. A fine leaf one like a cooch,requires less water and you will have to put up with it browning when it goes to sleep in the dryest times. Don’t worry grass just springs back with water. I am in Qld Australia and have a good thick Qld blue couch that does this. You need to keep the lawn about 30-40mm minimum thickness all the time.
2.Many aussie native plants that are attractive and will show a great geen and yellow display, are available world wide.
3. Acalypha’s are beatiful plants and come in a wide range of colors including gold/green reds and plain greens. They do not mind a dry spell at all.Also bottle brushes. consider planting a large patch of ground with a low growing ground plant instead of lawn. Many like camomile give off a nice scent when you tread on them.
4. any plant with a milk sap will usually do well in a dry climate and give both green and a floral display for very long periods.
http://images.google.com/images?q=acalypha+wilkesiana&rls=com.microsoft:en-au&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=KXW8Svm7GteIkQW2wuGhDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1
Well, it is not ecologically sound but, you can be "green" in your watering practices.
If you are going to water by sprinkler you want to water after 8:00 in the evening or by 9:00 in the morning. This will help to keep down on evaporation. You only need to water lawn one inch per week so you will want to calibrate your sprinklers by putting some regular soup cans out all over the lawn, water for say 15 minutes and then measure, in the can how high the water is. If you have a quarter inch in 15 minutes then you know you will need to water your lawn at 30 minutes two times a week. Don’t water more than 2 times a week when temperatures are cooler and go to 3 times a week when temperatures are in the 90+. Keep in mind that trees need 2 inches per week so you can so some drip irrigation to them and water just them more. Also invest in a rain gauge so that when you do get rain, you know many inches you have gotten, if you got an inch then you don’t have to water, if you have gotten 1/4 inch then you have to water 45 minutes that week instead of an hour.
Obviously, if you want to use drip irrigation it is more water wise.
Also put some rain barrels at your down spouts from your house, You can get ones that have a spigot at the bottom so you can hook a hose to them and use them to help water areas around your house. It is all about using what natural water you have in a "Green" way.