Xeriscaping and Southwestern Landscaping

Southwestern landscaping is a very popular landscaping design not only in the Southwestern areas but as well as those who wants a touch of Southwestern art in their own homes and locations anywhere in the world. This type of designing has been formulated due to the weather conditions prevalent in the Southwestern areas in the United States.

Southwest Landscaping is basically land designing with native plants that do not need too much water and have low level of pollen to keep allergies away when in the peak of summer. Grass is therefore not used in this type of landscaping as it can consume so much water and is very expensive to grow, and is replaced with either stones or rocks. Native flowering plants are started right away before the gravel landscaping begins.

Southwestern landscaping, particularly the one called xeriscaping is basically using native plants and flowers in the dry areas to be able to adapt in the sparse water supply in these areas. Native plants like cactus’s, yucca, ornamental grasses (not the species that needs so much maintenance), hibiscus, succulent plants, or other varieties of flowering plants that can grow with limited supply of water and abundant sunlight and heat are best in this type of landscaping design.

It is also becoming more and more popular because of the lesser need of maintaining the landscape. Because there is less need of watering the entire lawn everyday, every homeowner becomes a Southwestern landscaping prospect. This is also the same reason why it is being adapted all over the world, and most especially to countries with more dry seasons.

Aside from the native plants, succulent plants that belong to the crassula family like crasulla portulacea, crasulla capitella, and crasulla tetragona are also very important in the Southwestern landscaping task. These species of plants are usually considered as flowering plants in many months because of its beautiful and healthy green leaves. Other succulent plants like aloe vera, and haworthia correcta are also basic in this dry landscaping type.

These plants grow even more beautiful and healthy with less water; therefore owners get to save a lot of precious water in maintaining the landscape. Also, they get to save a lot of effort and labor fees because there is little need in hiring laborers or doing the task every so often. So it is really best that native plants are used in landscaping than getting exotic ones that aren’t sure to thrive in a different weather and maintaining conditions.

Mexican feather grass, yellow pampas grass, blue oat grass, or purple fountain grass are just some examples of ornamental grasses. Such grasses can live and thrive in extremely arid, dry climates so it is also another good addition to the native plants in designing the Southwestern landscaping. It will be very useful in growing garden beds or walkways.

Aside from that, it will also minimize dust formation that is basically out of the extreme dry weather conditions in the Southwest of America as well as in the same weather conditioned areas around the world. These types of ornamental grasses will also need less water and maintenance; although, you have to cut overgrown ones in a periodic manner to keep the grand and elegant beauty it exudes.

All in all, Southwestern landscaping is far more useful in areas with the same climate conditions as the Southwest of America.

Xeriscaping Used to Save Time and Water

While having a full landscaped garden is rewarding and enjoyable, you may not have the time to maintain it. For those people who are just too busy for a normal garden, perhaps a somewhat recent method of gardening known as Xeriscaping may benefit you. This minimal yet stylish theory first emerged in Colorado when water levels were at an all time low. It is a great method of having a great looking yard or garden, without having to maintain it or water it very often at all.

In Colorado, many places are offering free Xeriscaping lessons in order to encourage the conservation of water. If your area is undergoing a drought, you should check with the water suppliers and see if they are offering lessons. If you attend those, you will be able to get advice specific to your region (for example types of plants to grow, how much to water them, etc).

To some, the name Xeriscaping conjures the image of a yard that consists of a giant rock bed. However, this is known as “zero scaping”, and it is a considerably different concept. It focuses on reducing your yard to nothing that requires any maintenance whatsoever. This is usually just rocks, but this shouldn’t be your goal. While keeping maintenance at a minimum, it is still possible to retain a beautiful looking yard that won’t attract the negative attention of everyone who passes by.

This might sound like it would be hard to implement, but this is not so at all. The theory basically involves choosing plants which are low maintenance to begin with, then putting them each in environments that are ideal. It is usually applied by figuring out what side of the house to place it on to get the best amount of shade, and figuring out how to group it with plants with similar water needs.

To get started in your Xeriscaping renovation, you first need to pick out all the plants you will be using. They should for the most part require a low amount of water. This doesn’t mean you can only grow cactuses in your yard. Just cut back on the really thirsty plants that you have to water every day to keep alive. You’ll want to stick with local plants for the most part, and don’t go with anything too exotic as these generally require larger amounts of water.

The second most important principle of xeriscaping is placing the plants in ideal areas. If you place them all together with plants that require essentially the same amount of water, then you will end up saving lots of water. Also place the plants in areas where they will be protected from wind or excessive sun, depending on the needs of the plants. Xeriscaping is almost the same thing as microclimating, just with more of a focus on adaptation to harsh conditions rather than avoiding them. So if it sounds good to you and you’re looking to save time and water by renovating your garden, you should look for xeriscaping lessons.