Top Landscaping Tricks for Conserving Water in a Drought

While some parts of the nation are being flooded with excess water, others have seen barely a drop of rain in months. California, Arizona, New Mexico, and other areas with desert are struggling with a drought that’s held for record amounts of time.

Water is becoming scarce everywhere, and everyone on the planet should be thinking about ways to conserve more. Conservation techniques are often best learned through example.

One way to recognize water conservation landscaping is to study realty listings in areas where drought is occurring. Scottsdale, Arizona receives very little rain, for example, so its landscaping trends may herald the future for others.

You can search through listings to discover some of the most popular forms of landscaping these days. If the listings don’t inspire you, here are some ideas that might work.

Plant Drought-Resistant Plants

Some plants need very little water to thrive. In fact, some plants prefer much less water. The type of greenery that’s most resistant to drought depends on the region. Typically, native plants survive best, but succulents, cactus, and certain breeds of wildflower do very well on little water.

Install Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation increases the efficiency of your watering system. With drip irrigation, the soil is kept constantly moist through a steady drip or trickle of water through hoses. This approach uses far less water than a sprinkler and targets plant roots directly.

Reduce Lawn

Grass requires enormous amounts of water to remain green and healthy. Instead of continuing to water your lawn, change it into something that doesn’t need water. For example, you might install a broad deck or patio that replaces much of your lawn. Rocks, wood chips, or sand can also be used to make your yard look beautiful without grass.

Use Water-Saving Containers

Potted plants are great in drought-ridden areas, as long as you use water-saving containers. These typically come in the form of glazed terra cotta that looks great and keeps water in the soil instead of letting it drip down the sides. It reduces the amount of water you need to keep plants alive and healthy.

Harvest Rainwater

With cisterns or large barrels, households can store water from roof runoff. You can’t drink it, but it will feed plants. You can also hook irrigation lines up to the cisterns so you can water directly from the barrels.

Recycle Household Water

Instead of throwing out your dish, bath, and shower water, collect it and use it to wash your plants. Heavy use of soaps can kill plants, but light water can keep plants alive and healthy. You can also use a water purifier or a small amount of bleach to remove the impurities that could harm plants.

Install Porous Hardscape

Porous materials let water drain freely into the ground so your plants and grass get adequate moisture. This is the opposite of storm runoff, which pools in one area of your yard rather than dripping equally throughout your property.

Plant a Tree

Trees are great for shade and raise your property values. They’re also extremely valuable for transplanting water efficiently into your soil. The moisture percolates slowly into the ground so it can nourish roots from existing plants and keep the ground damp.

If everyone recognized the gallons of waters consumed by a typical household each day, we could significantly reduce the water shortage problems that plague the world. It’s not possible to reverse a drought once it’s begun, but your efforts can minimize its effects.