Beautiful, Low-Water Flower Gardens
One of the biggest uses of water in the summer is to provide water for the garden. You can collect rain water to offset the cost, but in many areas, there just isn’t that much rain in the summer to collect. For others, a rain barrel or downspout diverter just aren’t options for various reasons (such as living in an apartment). People who travel a lot can come home to a withered garden if there wasn’t any rain.
Whether you grow in containers or in open ground, if you need to save water and reduce the amount of water your garden needs, low-water flower gardens are one answer to the problem. You can grow a lovely flower garden that doesn’t require a lot of water. This is called xeriscaping. Here are some tips on how to create this type of garden.
Choose Native Plants
As much as possible, choose plants that are native to your area. There are various reasons for this. For one thing, native plants tend to be tough – they have survived for millennia without the care of a gardener. Native plants also support (or at least do not interfere with) local eco-systems.
In addition, pest and weed control tend to be much easier due to the hardy nature of native plants. And finally, native plants are generally quite disease-resistant – again, they’ve survived for thousands of years.
Native plants have adapted to low-water conditions naturally (provided you choose low-water native plants). So take advantage of their adaptability to create a lovely garden.
Here is a partial list of drought-resistant plants; check to see if they are native to your area or similar to plants that are native to your region.
* Yarrow
* Sage
* Butterfly Bush or Butterfly Weed
* Lamb’s Ears
* Spurge (various species)
* Dianthus
* Hens-and-Chicks
* Cranesbill
* Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
* Thyme
* Lavender
* Cactus plants
* Various succulents
Choose the Spot
When it comes to creating a xeriscape, you may decide to replace high-water areas with drought-resistant plants. If you spend a lot of time and money watering and mowing your lawn, for instance, you can replace the high-maintenance grass with drought-resistant plants.
You also may want to create a container garden, which lends itself well to xeriscaping since containers tend to dry out quickly (choose clay and earthenware pots rather than plastic or metal).
Make sure you choose a spot that does not collect rain water or experience ponding of water on a regular basis.