What Is Xeriscape Landscaping in Loveland, CO?
Those folks who are considering moving from rainier states to places like Colorado, Utah, or Wyoming might imagine these states as gardening nightmares where the tumbleweeds roll around freely but you won’t see much other vegetation. Thankfully, that doesn’t have to be true. Enter xeriscaping landscaping.
What Is Xeriscaping Landscaping in Loveland, CO?
If you have never heard the word before, the answer to the question of what xeriscaping landscaping has got to include “clever marketing”. Xeriscape landscaping sounds like the name of a futuristic gardening business with spectacularly wealthy clients, right? It’s certainly more impressive than “dry scraping”, “droughtscaping”, or “water-conservation landscaping”!
Those more down-to-earth terms do, however, describe what xeriscaping is all about — a new approach to landscaping in areas prone to droughts that helps to conserve water and preserve the rapidly-changing natural environment. The word xeriscaping itself combines the Greek “xeros” (dry) with “landscaping”.
Xeriscaping
Should you have just encountered xeriscaping for the first time, you will want to know that the word actually dates back to the 1980s, when it was coined by a group of organizations, including the Denver water department, as part of an initiative designed to encourage keen gardeners to be more conscious of the amount of water they used in their landscaping efforts.
People in dryer states have already embraced the ideas behind xeriscaping for the simple reason that these ideas help them maintain stunning gardens while saving money. In recent times, xeriscaping has been growing in popularity as a direct result of climate change awareness.
What Are the Main Principles Behind Xeriscaping?
Xeriscaping is all about creating beautiful gardens in creative ways that minimize water use, thereby cutting costs and contributing to a future in which humans live in closer harmony with nature. In the 21st century, people may adopt xeriscaping to be able to enjoy their gardens in climates that increasingly face droughts, but also to reduce their carbon footprint.
While xeriscaping is complex, and unique techniques and approaches have been developed in different localities (xeriscaping in Nevada isn’t the same as xeriscaping in Florida), the underlying principles remain similar:
Choose the right plants for your garden
Avoid vegetation that requires an abundance of water, and group plants with higher water requirements together while planting low-water plants with similar ones. This is excellent for the health of your garden, as well. Xeriscapers often focus heavily on planting vegetation that is native to the region, while shunning plants, flowers, and shrubs that originated in wetter climates. Foregoing a lawn is one of the first steps to take, as grass depends heavily on a lot of water.
Improve soil quality
To get away with watering your garden less without killing your plants, it’s important to nurture the soil and its ability to hold onto water. Composting is one crucial step.
Install irrigation systems
Install irrigation systems that directly deliver water to your plants’ roots, thereby reducing evaporation.
Mulch
Mulch the garden to improve water efficiency and cool the garden soil.
Over time, xeriscaping has grown to include principles like natural garden pest management and using approaches that attract wildlife, such as butterflies, to a garden. Ideas like composting and collecting rainwater to later use in the garden can also be incorporated.
To learn more about what xeriscape landscapers are doing in your region, especially if you have moved there recently or are new to gardening, head for the internet. Many universities are involved in local xeriscaping efforts, and your neighbors may well already have set up xeriscaping groups on social media where you can drastically improve your knowledge in a short period of time.
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