Tips on Xeriscaping - It's Not Zero-Scaping!

Pretty and Practical Water-saving Landscapes

I always recommend that my potential landscaping clients consider xeriscaping their property because a xeriscape uses less water and is easier to maintain. They usually look at me as if I have sprouted a second head and say "but I want flowers and trees and a lawn for the kids to play on, not rocks and cactus". They confuse xeriscaping with zero-scaping. Look at the picture: That is a zero-scape on the left and a xeriscape, with flowers and trees, on the right.

So, what does xeriscape mean? The word xeriscape was created in 1981 by the Denver, Colorado water department. The water restrictions of a long drought were killing traditional urban landscapes and the city wanted to promote a new, water-sensible approach to landscaping. The Greek word for dry (xeros) was merged with the word landscape, creating a new name - xeriscape - for the new approach.

Who can benefit from xeriscaping?

We all benefit. Most urban and suburban landscapes are watered with the purified water that comes from a municipal water treatment plant - the same source as the drinking and cooking water. As the area's population grows, demand for water can exceed the treatment plant's capacity. This means water rationing even in non-drought years or tax increases to pay for new water treatment plants. Xeriscaping decreases the amount of water that is used for landscaping, leaving more water for household use.

Homeowners and businesses with xeriscaped property benefit if water restrictions are required. Their properties will continue to look good as the water-guzzling landscapes around them wilt and die. They also benefit because a well-planned xeriscape is less expensive to maintain because it uses less water, may require no fertilizer, and requires less mowing, pruning and raking.

How do you xeriscape?

To keep the goals of xeriscaping in mind, just visualize two groups of landscapers, standing on opposite sides of a garden, chanting "Looks great!", "Less water!", "Looks great!", "Less water!" at each other like in that stupid old beer commercial.