XERISCAPING

Sustainable Landscaping

Xeriscaping is a popular form of landscaping and gardening that is quickly growing in popularity in the Okanagan Valley.  Due to increasing water restrictions and rising water prices, the desire for drought-resistant, low-maintenance yards is becoming more and more common.  Homeowners are looking for alternatives to alleviate the need for excessive irrigation and water waste in their yards. 

The word “xeriscaping” is a combination of the Greek xeros (dry) and landscaping. 

Xeriscaping focuses on eliminating unnecessary water use, while maintaining the elegance and functionality of a yard.   In order to accomplish this, climate-specific plants, trees, and shrubs must be planted and areas that consume large amounts of water, like large lawns, pools, water features, and ponds are removed.  The specific plants needed to fulfill the requirements of Xeriscaping vary according to the region you live in.  The more successful Xeriscaped yard will have a variety of native plants that are either drought-tolerant or drought-resistant by nature.  These plants require little to no extra water to flourish.  Contrary to what you might think, you have a wide variety of plants to choose from; you are not limited to various forms of cacti.

When a yard is effectively Xeriscaped, the household’s consumption of water can fall dramatically.  This can mean that there is more water available for use in other areas or that your water bill will see a significant decrease.  Also, Xeriscaping is a lower-maintenance form of landscaping, requiring minimal day-to-day maintenance.  Gardening becomes simple and stress-free.  In addition, Xeriscaped yards have little to no lawn mowing required, as they typically try to avoid having grass in the design.

The options with Xeriscaping are endless; there are many possibilities for design and creativity.  The use of large rocks, retaining walls, pathways, pergolas, slopes, ground cover, synthetic lawns, decks, etc. can create limitless visual interest in your overall design.

By hand watering or using an automatic sprinkler system, Xeriscaped yards can be irrigated effectively and efficiently with very little water waste.  In fact, most of your landscaped area will be sufficiently watered from rainfall.  If you are watering by hand, watering cans work well as they don’t offer much opportunity for water to escape.  Similarly, if you are hand watering using a spray nozzle, avoid options that throw a fine mist or shoot water high into the air; these sprayers are not as efficient as those that release larger drops directly onto the area to be watered.  Also, drip line or spray emitters are great for watering without excessive waste and can be easily installed using a timer to regulate water usage. 

Drip lines can be especially useful for trees, shrubbery, and groundcovers.  An important thing to consider when watering is the time of day; it is by far more effective and environmentally-friendly to water early in the morning or after the heat of the day.  Watering in the heat of the day causes the water to evaporate at an accelerated rate.  This makes it much more difficult for the water to reach the deep roots of your plants.

When designing your Xeriscaped yard, one thing to keep in mind in that your plants will function better when placed amongst plants with similar needs.  Plants will waste less water and thrive when planted next to others that share similar needs for water, wind, moisture, and amount of sunlight or shade. 

Put plants that have moderate water needs in areas of water drainage or beneath downspouts.  They will often grow better when placed in the shade of more drought-resistant plants that require full sun. 

In the Okanagan’s semi-desert climate, plants that have low water needs grow well.  Go to a variety of plant suppliers and nurseries to look at your options for different heights, colours, textures, shapes, and foliage.  A variety of native grasses, drought-tolerant flowers, trees and bushes, and existing native trees can shape your yard into a place that has lots of visual interest and shows creativity in landscape design.

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