X-rated yards save the environment (CNN) {X for Xeriscaping}

[eppur_se_muova]

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Of the 26 billion gallons of water used daily across the country, nearly 30 percent is used outdoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Xeriscape was created and copyrighted in the 1980s by Denver, Colorado, water officials, who were looking for solutions to dwindling water supplies in the middle of a drought. The term comes from combing the Greek words "xeros," or dry, and "scape" for land or scene.
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"In Santa Fe {Kentucky bluegrass} would require four feet of supplemental water per year," says Salman, "while blue grama (a low-care short prairie grass) might only take six inches of supplemental water."

The city of Las Vegas, Nevada, has paid homeowners to rip out their water-guzzling, non-native lawns and replace them with less thirsty turf. Parts of Colorado and New Mexico offer rebates for installing more efficient irrigation systems. And government agencies from Hawaii to New Hampshire to Florida are working to encourage water-efficient landscaping.

Even with its high humidity, Florida uses the most domestic water of any state, mainly for irrigation, according to University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/14/xeriscape/

This article is a few months old, but with all the recent news about worsening drought, it's worth another read.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. New Hampshire?

I guess I've been Xeriscaping for 20 years. I just let stuff grow in my yard, and chop it down to size when it gets out of control. Who knew I was so ahead of the curve? (Except my lawn obsessed neighbors, that is.)

[MuseRider]

2. We all need to be doing this

as much as possible. I am planting only native plants around my new house and my grass will be native buffalo grass. We are in the middle of a pasture anyway so why not? Never much cared for all those bright green lawns and slaving over them.

[Crowman1979]

11. Putting any cactus in your yard?

It would be a natural way to detect burglars going over the fence. :)

[KatyaR]

3. For those who are interested, here's a great website:

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

They focus on xeric perennials, and their catalog is informative as well as drool-worthy.

If I ever have a lawn again, I think this is the way to go, especially in Oklahoma--although this year we might need to be investing in some pond plants. It's been very wet this spring, not that I'm complaining . . . .

[starroute]

4. Sounds cool

My front lawn both faces west and slopes down to the street, so as a result it's a continuing disaster area. All the lawns on my side tend to look pretty bad, while the ones across the street that face east and don't slope are much greener. But mine is probably the worst -- it's got a large bare patch that I tried reseeding last year and but which is still mostly barren.

I googled around a bit a while back and concluded that patch is probably suffering from one of those insects that likes to live in dry soil and nibble on grassroots. The recommended solution for those is intensive watering. But since the problem to begin with is that, between the slope and the late afternoon sun, the area won't hold water, extra watering sounds like running twice as fast to stay in the same place.

My latest attempted answer has been to allow the more attractive of the weeds to take over -- but even they don't seem to want to touch that bare patch. Nothing I've tried planting there in place of the grass has ever survived either -- but I'll have a look at the link and see if they offer anything that might do the trick.

[RC]

5. How big is the patch?

Maybe put a boulder there and surround it with large pebbles.

[starroute]

7. It's a three foot circle, right at the point of the slope

A boulder that size perched two feet above the sidewalk is not exactly a viable alternative.

[blondie58]

10. It sounds to me like a groundcover would work

especially a succelent, as it would hold water in its leaves. I believe that you can type in special conditions, or if not, you can email David, the head guy, might give you some suggestions.

[blondie58]

6. great company!

and the agastache plant that I bought from them two summers ago is looking really healthy and is about three times as large as my mothers and a friends.



I can't wait until it starts to bloom- then the hummingbirds will come visit me.

[RedEarth]

9. Thanks for posting.... this looks like a a great web site/company for xeriscape

[PBS Poll-435]

8. Am I Wrong?

For wanting to see a penis bush and some berries?