DROUGHT-TOLERANT LANDSCAPING

HOW TO LANDSCAPE IN REGIONS PRONE TO DROUGHT

Not everyone is lucky enough to live in a temperate region with plenty of rainfall. Some parts of the country can go weeks without even a light shower.

That’s why it is essential to invest in drought-tolerant landscaping if you live in one of these areas. Putting in shrubs, hardscaping, and trees that can withstand unpleasant weather is often necessary.

Of course, drought-tolerant landscaping isn’t mainstream. It’s not something you see plastered across most gardening magazines and websites. However, it is something you can put into action on your property to make it more functional and attractive.

So what drought-tolerant landscaping ideas should you be implementing at home? Let’s explore some ideas.

Reduce The Size of Your Lawn

Top of your list of priorities should be to reduce the size of your lawn. You don’t have to eliminate it, but cutting down on how much space it takes up can reduce water usage and give you more room for beds, paving, and shrubbery.

For example, instead of the lawn consuming large swathes of your plot, you might constrict it to a specific area outside your front door and dedicate the rest to stonework. You could also add it as an attractive strip between various landscaping features. This approach prevents your front and back yards from going brown when there’s no rain or requiring you to water them incessantly with sprinklers.

Add Mulch

For people living in drought-prone areas, mulch is almost a lawn replacement. It is something you can lay where you don’t have any shrubs or trees.

Gravel is the most obvious option. It works well in hot and dry areas and looks great in the early morning and late evening. You can also use conventional wood chip mulch around trees and in flower beds, but it will only work if you contrast it against other elements, such as lawns or artificial grass.

Some dry-climate species, like succulents, thrive when placed in gravel. Furthermore, it complements most stonework and slows evaporation, keeping more moisture in the soil on warm days.

Plant Densely for Shade

Hosta Garden and Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

Planting densely for shade is another pro tip. Providing plants and the ground with plenty of cover stops the sun from reaching them and causing excessive evaporation.

Plants to use include:

Hostas
Ferns
Ivy
Begonias

These provide each other with mutual shade and reduce wind exposure. Ensure you plant a combination of plants with deep and shallow roots. These species can take advantage of moisture sources in deeper soil layers.

Managing Sloping Sections

Managing your garden's steep sections can also help create a more drought-tolerant landscape. Reducing the rate of water can run off retain more moisture and protect species that need more hydration.

One method is to build a retaining wall at the end of a slope. These help to keep water fixed in place, allowing plants with deeper roots to access it during dry spells.

Another method is to plant drought-adapted plants at the top and more rain-dependent species at the bottom in a raised bed. Water will trickle down from plants that don’t require it as much to those needing it the most.

Use Porous Hardscaping Elements

Another strategy is to use porous hardscaping elements – stones and other materials that will absorb and capture water instead of allowing it to escape down gulleys and drains.

Placing a porous material between paving stones and allowing rain to soak the soil is one idea. This method will permit more water storage underground than, say, a concrete driveway.

You can also lay mulch to capture more water in the material itself and in the subsurface layers.

Use More Drought-Loving Plants

Naturally, using more drought-loving plants will also help to improve your landscaping. These species evolved over millions of years to low-water environments.

You don’t have to limit yourself to tropical plants, either. Some evergreen species are also proficient at surviving in locations with scarce water. (Many had to survive entire seasons in northern latitudes where accessible water is frozen underground).

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Make Your Hardscaping Decorative

Fountain Within Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

Finally, use more decorative hardscaping elements for drought-tolerant landscaping. Don’t rely as heavily on plants as you might in a temperate climate.

Natural stones and rocks should be your main hardscaping choices. These elements can be beautiful and complement the surrounding greenery.

Stone statues and ornaments are also options. These help to make your garden look more distinguished and varied.

Sometimes, you can use decorative hardscaping as a focal point. Placing a bird bath at the center of a hardscape area gives it character and makes it more functional.

In Summary

So, there you have it: how to do drought-tolerant landscaping properly. Get it right and your property will look stunning!

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