Xeriscaping: Landscaping to Conserve Water

Xeriscaping; it sounds like a weapon in some futuristic video game or a character in Scientology. However, xeriscaping is a portmanteau of xeros, Greek for dry, and landscaping. Basically, it is a creative way to design landscaping to conserve water. The practice is also known as drought-tolerant landscaping, zeroscaping, smart scaping, and water-conserving landscaping.

It is believed that the idea began in Israel, but it is used to today in much of the southern United States. The specific term xeriscaping was created by the Front Range Xeriscaping Task Force of Denver Water in 1978. It refers to landscaping in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation and is promoted in areas that do not have easily accessible supplies of fresh water.

Some aspects of the practice include the use of plants whose natural resquirements are appropriate to the local climate, as well as taking care to avoid losing water to evaporation and run-off. While specific plant use depends on the climate the use of agave, cactus, lavender, juniper, sedum, and thyme are common.

The advantages to xeriscaping include lower water consumption, more water available for other uses, less time needed for maintenance, and plantlife sustainability when water is restricted.

http://xeriscapelandscaping.org/

The Mike Webb Team: www.NorthernVirginiaHouses.com