Gardeners are a social bunch, and I know we all miss seeing each other and talking gardening.聽 Last week the YDHS had an online meeting, and it was wonderful to see everyone!聽 Or, we visit by email, not in person the way we did BC (Before Covid) but still, it鈥檚 good to chat about gardens! 聽A fellow gardener mentioned xeriscaping, so it seemed like a timely topic for us to chat about today.
What is xeriscaping? 聽First of all, what it isn鈥檛. 聽Xeriscaping is not removing all plant material from your yard.聽 聽Xeriscaping is a specific landscape style that uses plants that require minimal water use. We are conscious of water use and use it wisely with our plant selections.
How is this done? 聽By choosing plants that are more drought tolerant.聽That sounds like we鈥檙e talking about cacti, doesn鈥檛 it! 聽But drought tolerant plants include many plants we are familiar with, 聽perennials like heuchera, peonies, artemisia, dianthus, lamb鈥檚 ear, sedum, yarrow, rosemary, iris, day lilies, or annuals such a as zinnias, cosmos, salvia, sunflowers, and petunias.. 聽There are also many beautiful grasses that would fit into a xeriscape, as well as shrubs such as lilac, potentilla, dogwood, and Virginia creeper.
There are several points to remember with xeriscaping. 聽Choosing drought tolerant plants is first. 聽Next, we must be aware of efficient use of water. 聽Sometimes we hear of gardens that are watered with a sprinkler. 聽While this looks like an old-fashioned picture of lazy, hazy summer days gone by, it is a very inefficient use of water. 聽The water is watering everything, not just the plants. 聽So it is going on bare garden patches, footpaths between the plants, and sidewalks.聽 聽On a hot summer day, much of it is evaporating.
An alternative is to water the plants individually and directly by hand. 聽Yes, it is more labor intensive, but the water goes just where it is needed. 聽Another efficient method would be a soaker hose.
What about lawn? 聽Lawn is a useful and attractive ground cover: it is nice for kids to play on, nice for pets to enjoy, cool and comfortable to walk on, the perfect backdrop for flowers and veggies. Lawn can fit in a xeriscaping mindset. 聽Remember that lawns are very adaptable; when they turn brown in dry spells, they are not dying; but going dormant to conserve water. 聽If we accept this idea, we can have the best of both worlds.
There is an excellent book called 鈥淐reating The Prairie Xeriscape鈥� by Sara Williams.聽 This book has all the information you need to know about xeriscaping, and would make a great addition to your own garden library to use as a future reference.
Have you joined any of the U of S online gardening sessions?聽 I took part in the session last week with Sara Williams on 鈥淭he Spring Garden鈥�.聽 It was just wonderful鈥攑lease check out the upcoming sessions listed on the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society website at www.yorktonhort.ca and be part of these great learning opportunities.
聽聽聽 Thank you to our friends at the Yorkton This Week for their fine work. 聽Let鈥檚 pray for health for all, have a great week!
