Think Mountain Friendly Landscapes

Garden center owners from all over the state met in Greer, AZ early this week to learn how to grow better fruit trees, grapes, and vines. Of course, I really am excited to have learned better techniques to share with my customers and to try at home. However, I’m just as pleased that my father-in-law, Harold Watters, and I took an extra day on Wednesday to do a little fly-fishing. We caught quite a few like the one in this week’s photo and although all were released back into the water, we had such a good time. What fun!

Let's face it – water is cheap, even pouring it on hardly hurts our pocketbooks. So what will it take to get gardeners to cut back enough on water use to impact future water supplies?

In order to reduce the amount of water used in gardening, we are encouraged to go greener by gardening browner. This includes watering less. To many home landscapers “xeriscape” sounds so prickly and “drought-tolerant” conjures up visions of drip tubing. However, a "mountain friendly landscape" sounds softer, prettier, and much more desirable. So what does a low water “mountain friendly landscape” look like?

Not all drought-tolerant landscapes need to be dull as dirt. Pay attention to design. Let a creative design object, not necessarily the plants, take center stage. Give xeriscapes a good reputation by keeping your xeriscape pinched and pruned to perfection. Low water doesn't mean low maintenance. Low maintenance doesn't mean sloppy. Maintenance and design should be tied together.

While many natives are low water users, so are many of the luscious looking plants from all over the world. People don't realize that mainstream plants such as lilac and red tipped photinia can go months without water. You can also go low on water use by converting to “mountain friendly” plants. Don't confuse friendly with native. Mountain friendly plants can include and are not limited to ornamental grasses, bulbs, shrubs, natives, succulents, and most plants from Mediterranean climates worldwide. Ask for my free handout on “Mountain Friendly Plants” for the area. Many of the plants at garden centers in summer are heat lovers by nature but don’t require much water.

For example, dwarf pampas grass is for sale with full plumes right now. Half the size of its 10-foot-tall parents, this dwarf variety, famous for its classy plumes that form in late summer and last through the beginning of next year, is considered a low water user.

A mountain friendly landscape is about the plants, but it is also about the plant keeper. It is the homeowner who decides when and how much to water and takes an active role in where the water goes.

7 MOUNTAIN FRIENDLY LANDSCAPE PRINCIPLES

1) Provide shade. Large shade trees help keep a landscape cool and moist, especially during the hotter months of summer.
2) Pick appropriate plants. If you think yuccas are yucky, dig a little deeper into your gardening books to discover plants that rely on a lot less water than perhaps you thought. For example, most spring-blooming bulbs like daffodils don't need a drop of water in the summer.
3) Re-think turf areas. Grass is the largest water guzzler in the landscape, requiring 70 percent of a landscape’s water. On the other hand, it is also effective at controlling erosion and reducing runoff on slopes. That means grass should be planted where it will be part of the solution.
4) Water less. The #1 reason for plant failure is over-watering, period. It’s a truth most homeowners are stubborn to concede. Homeowners on average over-water their landscapes by 50 percent. Many of us waste up to 35,000 gallons of water per household per year by over-watering plants. Try to use less water and then cut it back from there. You might be amazed at how much water your plants don’t need.
5) Don't waste water. In addition to over-watering, fifty percent of the water we use in the landscape is wasted in runoff and irrigation leaks. Letting water hit the curb for any reason is unacceptable. Group plants on an irrigation timer according to their water needs.
6) Control runoff. To keep our creeks and lakes clean, create permeable areas of the landscape or depression areas called rain gardens where water can gather before it goes into the watershed. Harvesting rain at down spouts also helps.
7) Mulch like there is no tomorrow. Nature always leads us in the right direction, so check how much juniper or pine litter is underneath native trees and shrubs; you will find up to eight inches of leaf mold insulating healthier natives. Your entire landscape will benefit from comparable insulation. Three inches of mulch go a long way toward retaining the water we do use.

One of the services I offer is teaching about water requirements for the plants you already have. They may require only a fraction of the water you are using. Ask for my free water guide the next time you visit our garden center.

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.