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Xeriscaping

© Chris Arnold

It may not be a really familiar term for most of us, but Xeriscaping in one form or another has been around for a very long time. The term itself was coined by the City of Denver and has spread like widefire. The idea is quite simple.

My understanding is that the general plan goes like this. For the most part, we are tyring to get plants that don't naturally grow in our area or climate without assistance, to grow. Therefore, we have to water them often, fertilize, and generally do things that you don't have to do to the weeds to get them to grow. The reason is because the weeds belong there. The weeds are a version of the natural plants for that climate, and often times are native to the area.

Now I am not suggesting that you go and throw out a bunch of danelion seeds in your yard. The point is that there are some very lovely, very useful plants that are native to your area. Rather than fighting with where you are as opposed to what you want to grow, why not look to the native plants and those suited for your soil and planting zone for your landscaping.

There are some excellent resources out of the web for this type of landscaping, and one of the best is right here on Suite101. Max Dalrymple has put together an excellent page giving information about Xeriscaping and additional resources. His page is at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/xeri...

One of the links he has made available is for the Colorado Springs Utilities Xeriscape garden (www.csu.org). A great feature to this page is that they have their areas broken down by the type of watering they require. One area has no watering at all. You will probably be surprised by the abundance of plants available in this category.

Sooner or later your area is probably going to be hit by a drought. You don't have to lose your entire yard because of a moritorium on watering. With these plants you can keep them alive by just throwing some dish-water on them once in a while.

Something to think about as you're considering your landscaping options.

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