My sister, Melissa, asked me to look into this topic for her. She recently moved into a beautiful new house with an absolutely deplorable back yard. The only living thing in it is a Scrub Oak. The poor tree is surrounded by dead grass and dirt all the way to the chain link fence. I agree, she needs help!Considering the hot, hot summers in Redding, California, it will be important for her to select native plants which will do better with less water than non-native plants. This link has all kinds of information about native plantlife. It also includes information on low-water grasses and tons of pictures. Hey, Melissa! There is even a section titled "Dry Shade Garden (ie planting under oaks or other places that you don't want to water)"
http://www.californiagardens.com/index.html
If you don't live in California, try a Google search for native plants in your state.
This next link has information on drip systems & a sprinkler system that can track the weather and turn off your sprinklers if rain is predicted. http://www.ecomii.com/building/efficient-irrigation
Also, revisit Veronica's post about her rain barrels. http://eroticvulture.blogspot.com/2008/09/keeping-up-with-joneses-eco-style.html They are a great way to use a natural resource more efficiently!
In some areas, you can even get a rebate for purchasing rain barrels. Check with your local water supplier to to find out if they offer this incentive. If it is not offered, encourage them to start! With enough calls, they may see the overall benefit of encouraging citizens to reduce demand for municipal water and preserve the precious groundwater supply.
Click this link to peruse available rain barrels and other environmentally friendly lawn and garden supplies. http://www.cleanairgardening.com/rainbarrels.html
Happy planting!
1 comment:
Thanks for the links...someday soon (after Christmas) I will look them over for some ideas!
Post a Comment