We hear so much about conserving water, “going green”, and we live in a desert. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to grow native plants and I don’t want gravel flower beds! To me gardening is about beautiful blooms that please the eye and can be cut and enjoyed in doors, up close as well as along the pathway where their perfume and beauty tantalize my senses! So the question of the day:Can a “Xeriscaped” garden ever be beautiful?
Read on and I’ll convince you –yes, you can have a beautiful blooming garden- maybe even more beautiful than you have ever had, when using the elements of Xeriscape.
What exactly is Xeriscape? A few years ago, some employees of the Denver Water Dept. coined the term Xeriscape. Xeri comes from the Greek word Xeros which means dry. Combine xeri with landscape and you get Xeriscape. Some people call drought tolerant gardens “zero-scape”, picturing gravel beds full of cactus. (In some regions it is a beautiful landscape) Either way, it is all about water conservation through creative landscaping.
The following are Six Elements of Xeriscape:
1. Think water conservation- irrigate efficiency with a drip system that delivers water directly to the base of the plant. Water deeply and less often.
2. Improve Soil- Composted organic materials are the best and healthiest additive you can give your plants, trees and shrubs. Dig in and mix compost with the existing soil when planting. Also, add top dressings one or two times per year to your planting areas. Your landscape will use 50-70% less water by improving soil, benefiting plants in three ways: holding moisture, draining readily and enhancing aeration.
3. Be Creative with your landscape design. Limit the use of turf, giving you more space to introduce other amenities, structures and hardscape.
The turf that remains should be mowed higher to conserve water as the grass blades shade itself. You can also use less fertilizer to slow the growth, and water less often. Doing these three actions will produce a healthier lawn.
Smaller areas of lawn give way to a plethora of design possibilities. Patios, pathways, stepping stones, short stone walls, terracing, (even a 3 inch rise in the terrain will make a nice impact) boulders, dry stream beds, re-circulating water features and garden décor. Don’t forget, benches and sitting areas...these elements turn good gardens into great gardens.
4. Choose appropriate plants- Know their mature height for easier maintenance. You won’t need to constantly prune if you choose the correct plant. Use drought resistant plants also, to save on water, survive the heat of summer and bloom beautifully. There are hosts of them that bloom stunningly all season. In southern and western exposures, use plants that require a minimum of water. They generally have small, silver-grey, glossy and fuzzy leaves. Group plants by their water and light requirements. Consider planters and pots for showing off grand and splendid blooms up close.
5. Mulch- Use a minimum of a 3” layer of mulch, to retain moister, help stabalize the soil temperature, block weeds and prevent erosion. No area should remain in bare soil. Mulch should be re-applied from time to time. Some suggestions for mulch: leaves, coarse compost, pine needles, grass clippings mixed with other decomposing organic materials. Also wood chips, bark or gravel make good top dressings. 
6. Low Maintenance gardening is a benefit of Xeriscape. Weeds find it harder to germinate when you mulch and less fertilizer is required as the compost breaks down into nutrition that plants can utilize, so you can slow the fertilizer applications. When planting hardier plants you can skip the chemicals. There are many new varieties to choose from, (some disease resistant) of your favorite blooms.Using drought tolerant plants doesn’t mean a garden has to be boring. It can actually be more beautiful using tougher plants that are more disease resistant as well as happier without the constant application of water, chemicals and fertilizer.
Some of my favorite plants used in combinations are: Coreopsis, Echinacea, Gaillardia (check out the new colors), Asters, Agastache, Alyssum montanum, ornamental grasses, Linum perenne, Penstemons, “landscape” Roses, and Pansies, to name a few.
What could be more beautiful than a low-maintenance garden, filling the entire season with beautiful blooms without demanding much more than an occasional drink from the gardener!
