Looking forward to a green home? Xeriscaping is a great way to adopt green living. It is a landscaping design that aims at conserving water by reducing or eliminating the need for supplementing through irrigation. The design relies on plants that fit the local climate and doesn’t lose water through evaporation or surface run-off.
A drought-resistant landscape design is an idea behind Xeriscaping in states with a drier climate. The design started in Denver, Colorado but became popular in other parts of the country. Luckily, you can get a Xeriscape landscape even when not living in a hot climate. No wonder most homeowners are adopting this landscape design for its positive impact on the environment as highlighted below.
Growing native plants
Xeriscape landscape uses native plants in case of plants that wouldn’t grow well in areas with limited water supply. So, look forward to getting plants native to your areas and these will thrive from one season to another without much care. Indigenous plants survive dry climates and thrive naturally with available resources such as rain, sun, and soil. A Xeriscape landscape allows having a naturally beautiful garden without much maintenance.
Conserves water sources
This landscape design uses very little water. The natural resource significantly reduces the water you use by about 70 percent. Imagine having a great landscape that doesn’t come with a big water bill at the end of the month. The best drought tolerant landscape design incorporates drought-resistant plants that thrive in environments with limited water but still offer colorful blooms and green foliage.
Average home users spend about 112 gallons of water daily with about 50 percent used to maintain the yard. With a Xeriscape landscape, there’s no need to water the yard. This is because the landscape design uses native plants that thrive with limited maintenance. Despite the initial investment, you save more in the future in terms of water bills and maintenance.
Eliminates the use of pesticides
A Xeriscape landscape includes plants native to the local environment. These are naturally adapted to thrive without pests. So, there’s no need to use pesticides that come with negative consequences on the environment. Apart from protecting Mother Nature, eliminating the need to use pesticides saves money that you would have used to buy chemicals and pesticides.
Local soil has natural qualities that efficiently heal the vegetation to eliminate the need to spend on protection. Additionally, the Xeriscape landscape relies on mulching to keep moisture in the soil. This encourages plants to grow while preventing growth of weeds that might require pesticides to eliminate.
No spending on fertilizers
Plants adapted to the local environment don’t need synthetic fertilizers but organic ones. In the beginning, you can enrich the soil for the new plantings before they begin to grow well on their own with or without soil enhancements.
You will save a great deal of money that you would have spent on fertilizers and protect the environment as well. This is because extensive use of synthetic fertilizers lessens the soil’s natural ability to thrive without enhancements. So, with time, the soil will lose fertility from extensive use of fertilizers.
Promotes local wildlife
Sacramento has wildlife including coyotes, birds, opossums, raccoons, and deer. All these thrive on native plants for food. Fortunately, a Xeriscape landscape encourages native plants to thrive and promotes seed distribution and pollination. Dedicating your landscape for native plants to grow significantly benefits butterflies, birds and bees that your garden attracts. These pollinate flowers that lead to the growth of fruits for wildlife to thrive.
Reducing carbon footprints
Another feature of Xeriscaping is the lessening presence of lawn grass in the backyard and front areas. A professional Sacramento landscaping consultant will enlighten you on how reducing grass in those places makes your landscape more manageable. Besides, it is a great water-saving feature. This is because homeowners averagely spend about 25 gallons of water on the lawn annually. Apart from lowering your monthly water bill, you will contribute to protecting the environment.
Having a lawn with grass comes with various pitfalls in the environment. You will need to mow the lawn periodically. This exposes hydrocarbons and gasses to the environment while causing noise pollution. The end products after mowing eat up space in landfills. Fortunately, a Xeriscape landscape design lessens the presence of grass meaning no frequent mowing. The environment benefits from limited use of the lawnmower with the negative consequences you have noticed above.
Other benefits of Xeriscape design include:
- Improving aesthetic appeal
- Limited expenditure on yard maintenance
- Protects you from buyer remorse
Wrapping up
When looking forward to playing a part in protecting the environment, a Xeriscape design is a great idea. You just have to get a professional landscape consultant for a design that will change the look of your yard. A Xeriscape design benefits the environment by limiting the use of water, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and promoting wildlife through encouraging native plants to thrive.
