5 Best Practices That Help Conserve and Save Water In Your Landscape

Water is a vital necessity that we cannot afford to run out. It is essential, especially to maintain your landscaping and garden.

Save More Water With These Landscape Tips

There are many ways you can save water.

Here are some easy ways that can help you get started today. You can do this whether you are starting new or improving your existing landscape.

Invest In Smarter Ways For Water Landscaping

The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy suggests knowing your plants’ water needs. It helps you be aware, so you will not overwater, which leads to wasting water.

They also suggest watering during the early mornings because evaporation is lowest. Doing it in the midday does more damage because of the high evaporation rate.

One smart way to irrigate is to make sure you water the roots instead of the leaves. Suppose water reaches the leaves only; it is not alone but can also cause fungal disease.

Adapt drip irrigation is a sure way that water reaches the roots.

DIY or professional drip irrigation installation can help lessen your water bills. You can save 20 to 50 percent more water than other sprinkler systems.

You can use a soaker hose if you want to water your plants yourself.

The tube is flatter with beautiful spaced holes compared to standard hoses. It can help you track your water usage and target the roots.

You can install water timers to your hose just like you would with ordinary sprinklers.

There are also smart sensors available in the market that can detect the weather. You can connect this to your irrigation system, and it will adjust your watering levels. It detects soil moisture and rainfall, so your plants get water only when they need it.

If you have existing or old irrigation systems, have irrigation experts check on them. It can no longer be useful, or there are leaks present. It will be best to catch on these defects early so you can also consider upgrading.

Xeriscaping: Save Water In The Garden

We know what you might be thinking.

Xeriscaping means putting more stones or cactuses to your landscaping. That is not true. It does not mean that you need a dry landscape to achieve a water-saving garden design.

The word xeriscaping has Greek roots from, which means dry. It is a landscaping method that promotes conserving water through systemic steps.

It is famous in arid areas, but there are principles that you can adapt to save more rain here in New Orleans.

1. Start with a plan and design – You can make the first step identifying what your water sources are. Next, plan how you will use landscaping ideas you might and see if they will work according to your area. Take into account that even your hardscaping can affect water conservation.
2. Be wise in selecting plants – You can choose plants that are appealing and water-efficient too. There are native plants that have evolved through the years to adapt to your particular area. Pick plants that are perfect for the Louisiana weather. There are perennial plants like baby’s breath, butterfly, and joe weeds. Shrubs available are hydrangea, American holly, and Chaste tree. For trees, there are live oak, mimosa, American smoke tree, and loblolly pine. Remember that individual plants need enough sunlight and care, so plant in the right spot.
3. Improve your soil quality – Bad soil is a top reason why plants are unhealthy. Healthy soil can help keep more moisture. Compost can help improve your soil content. If you are not sure about what soil your plants need, you can contact landscape professionals.
4. Use mulch – Mulch is an effective way for the soil to keep more water. It can also lessen weed growth and improve the look of your landscaping.
5. Maintain your landscaping – A well-made xeriscape will need a little maintenance. But to make sure it grows better, you need to continue with basic landscaping practices. Do not forget to prune, fertilize, weed, and pest control.

Recycle Water For Your Landscape

Harvesting rainwater is a water-saving idea for your garden that you can try. You can set up a rain barrel and get gallons of water. Use this recycled water for planting beds, container plants, and edible gardens. Rainwater has no chemicals and salts that you can find from local water sources.

There is also an option to collect rainwater in cisterns. It’s a storage option for roof runoffs. Cisterns can remove insect problems you get from conventional water storage. Contact an irrigation expert to help you connect your irrigation to rainwater.

Plant The Right Way: Less Watering For You

It can be a lot of work, especially if you already have established your landscaping. The idea is to group your plants according to how much water they need.

Plant bedding plants nearer to the lawn because they are thirsty plants.

You can also install a state-of-the-art watering mechanism that waters according to zones. It will help you save more on water and bills.

Reduce Lawns: Reduce Water In Landscaping

The American Society of Landscape Architects suggests replacing lawn with drought-resistant groundcover.

They say that most households use about 96 gallons of water for outdoor use. Watering lawns and gardens take up more than half of that consumption.

If you lessen your lawn area, this helps reduce costs with watering and mowing.

You can also opt to install more hardscaping like walkways or pathways. Combine these with outdoor areas like decks or patios to reduce lawn areas and cut back on watering.

These can help create a water-saving landscape design that also provides more function.

Water conservation landscaping ideas will help you save energy, time, and money. These steps can also help you improve the environment.

There are experts here in Big Easy Landscaping that can help you save water in your landscape.

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