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Drought-tolerant beauty

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 12, 2009 at 6:59 am

From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

As California heads into its third dry summer and pressure mounts to turn down the tap, a new set of plant and landscape descriptors has emerged.

“Drought tolerant.” “Low water use.” They have quickly become so ubiquitous, so P.C. as to be downright trendy.

As much as you might like the English cottage garden look, there is something appealing about a landscape that is more independent. It’s sort of like raising kids. They’re adorable as babies and you can’t imagine them growing up when they’re toddling and cooing so endearingly. But when they finally are old enough to drive, make a sandwich on their own, dress themselves and not require a sitter every time you walk out the door, it’s deliciously liberating.

Is it possible to have an independent landscape? Taking low water use to the next level, can you have a garden that can at least survive a drought if voluntary cutbacks — the goal this year is 25 percent in Sonoma County, 50 percent in Mendocino — escalate into actual water rationing next year?

Yes, say experts — with some caveats. And it doesn’t have to look like a prickly back yard in Tucson. “Drought tolerant” and “low water use” are replacing the old term “xeriscape,” which, fair or not, had come to be negatively perceived by some as arid.

Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.

June 12, 2009 · Filed Under Drought Tolerant Landscaping

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