How a Landscape Remodel Can Save Water and Money
In these arid drought conditions, it’s more important than ever to take a hard look at your home and landscaping’s water consumption. While the benefits to your wallet will certainly make a big dent, it’s your social responsibility as a homeowner to limit your lawn and garden’s water usage to ensure your community maintains a healthy level of clean water. Here’s how a landscape remodel can benefit both your community and your energy bill.
Upgrade Old Irrigation Systems
Reworking the rest of your outdoor space is a great opportunity to revisit your old gardening irrigation system or install a new one. Either way, recent advances in water-saving irrigation systems can go a long way toward saving water while keeping your plants lush and green.
For maximum effectiveness and watering several individual plants, drip irrigation systems can spread between 1-4 gallons of water per hour across the entire line. It’s also useful for mulched areas of your yard, as the slow trickle of water won’t wash away any mulch in the process.
Introduce Drought-Tolerant Plants
As we’ve covered before, introducing drought-tolerant plants into your yard is a beautiful way to dramatically reduce your water usage without sacrificing aesthetics. In fact, many homeowners are opting for native or zeriscaped yards due to their resilience and ease of upkeep during harsh conditions.
Substituting Ecoturf (typically a blend of drought tolerant grasses and clover) for your existing lawn will save water and time. Once established, this lawn requires little watering to stay green – and you can also minimize mowing time as the manufacturers recommend monthly mowing to maintain a 3-5” lawn. An added benefit is that this lawn can be mowed even less frequently and will never turn yellow at the base the way traditional lawn grass does.
Use and Reuse Energy
Want to minimize your reliance on city water and utilize the winter rainwater all year round? Rain barrels aren’t a new revelation by any means, but installing a few along the side of your garage and catching the heavy seasonal rain will provide plenty of water for your plants once the hot, dry months of summer come back around.
For design inspiration or to discuss the future of your outdoor spaces, contact Urban Oasis today. Our experienced and creative landscape architects can design and implement stunning and functional outdoor structures and decor on time and on budget. Give us a call today for a free one-hour consultation!