 The
Low Water Diet: Less is More When it's Time to Go Green
Residents of Southern California face increasing environmental
concerns including a continuous plague of droughts, and water restrictions
from the northern part of the state.
If you make your home here, you've probably been made aware
that "green" isn't so green when it comes to your landscaping.
Grass-covered soil is thirsty soil, consuming about 1 gallon of water
per square foot per week.
By decreasing the size of our lawns, we can save nearly
$140 -$280 per year on our water bill. The Yard Fairy specializes in low-water,
low-application irrigation systems. Here are some tips for creating an
attractive outdoor environment while greatly reducing your water use.
Reduce the amount of grass.
Walkways and patios constructed of interlocking pavers,
decomposed granite, and gravel are all wonderful additions that can make
for creative landscaping without the use of grass. You might also consider
grass-alternatives, such as thyme, which create a lovely effect in some
areas but require much less water than grass does. Talk with your landscape
artist to decide which types of plants will work best with your aesthetic
preference and the intended function of your yard.
Choose your plants wisely.
 Water
wise plant choices don’t have to be just cactus. A surprising array
of colorful and interesting plant material is available that will reduce
your water bill. Select from:
California natives such
as Flannel bush (Fremontodendron) with its fury leaves and bright yellow
blooms or Ceanothus with its evergreen glossy leaves and its beautiful
blue blooms
Mediterranean plants such
as Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa) with its wooly gray green leaves
and deep golden yellow flowers or Blue Hibiscus (Alyogyne huegelii) with
its deep green leaves and prolific lilac blue flowers
Succulents such
as rosettes of Hen and Chicks (Echeveria x imbricata) with their bell-shaped,
orange-red flowers, or Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ with its nearly
black rosettes held on its stalk.
Replace traditional spray heads
with MP rotators.
Traditional spray heads deliver a high volume
of water that evaporates into the air quickly. Water sprays in a fine
mist that is not easily absorbed by the dry, clay soil of Southern California.
The result is excessive runoff, wasted water, and plants that don't receive
the moisture they need to thrive and grow.
MP rotators send fingers or streams of water
in a circular pattern. The droplets of water are heavier, denser, and
less likely to blow off course. Water absorbs into the ground more readily,
which makes for a more economical method of watering your plants.
Switch to an efficient drip
irrigation system.
A traditional irrigation system uses spay nozzles
on fixed risers that deliver a large volume of water in a sort space of
time. As the plans grow, the sprays are blocked and the plants which are
further away don’t get their quota of water.A more efficient method
is to deliver the water slowly directly to the top of the soil in the
root zone via half inch drip line. The water has less chance of evaporating
off, especially if it's covered with wood chip mulch, and the plants’
water needs are met as they grow.
Use a Smart Irrigation Controller.
Typically as homeowners we adjust our irrigation
controller twice per year – once in the fall, and once in the spring.
Often, we forget to turn our irrigation off when there is rain. All these
factors cause us to waste quite a lot of water. A 'smart' irrigation controller
is hooked up to a weather station in your yard, so it knows the temperature
and the relative humidity. Once it's programmed with your soil type, plant
types and any slope information, it can automatically adjust the irrigation
schedule on a day by day basis. This provides us with a huge water saving
and it removes one more thing to worry about as homeowners.
Improve the quality of your
soil.
Southern California soil is either heavy
clay or very sandy. Both soil types have their pros and cons. Clay contains
lots of nutrients, but is prone to becoming water logged. Sandy soil is
nice and airy, but water and nutrients just wash right though.
Fortunately, the answer is to add organic compost
to both types of soil. For clay soil it breaks it up and creates a texture
that allows for drainage. For sandy soil it provides nutrients and water
holding capacity.
Without the proper conditioning, it's nearly
impossible for anything other than native plants to grow here. The Yard
Fairy takes steps to improve the soil for those areas where clients would
like to add a bit more color to their yards. We add compost to the soil
to improve the pH levels. Then we cover the area with mulch, which helps
to retain moisture.
Harvest rainwater for later
use.
While our rainfall is on average pretty low,
it makes sense to capture as much of it as we can and store it in our
soil. We can achieve this by raising walkways so that rainwater drains
off them into planter beds, we use permeable walkways and patio materials
to deliver the water back into the soil, and we encourage water catchment
using dry stream beds and rain barrels where possible.
Contact The Yard Fairy - San Diego Low Water
Landscaper today!
The Yard Fairy creates award-winning, low-water
landscapes that are as functional as they are pleasing to the eye. If
you are interested in turning your yard into a low-water work of art,
contact The Yard Fairy at info@yardfairy.com.
For more information or to schedule an
onsite visit with our designer, please fill out our on-line
contact form or give us a call at 760.804.1661.
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