5 Easy Steps to Conserve Water in the Texas Landscape.

Lisa's Landscape & Design ♦ 12/14/2016 ♦ 4 Comments

Central Texas and Austin in particular is growing by leaps and bounds. This constant influx of people has a huge impact on our water source and it’s everyones responsibility to conserve whenever possible. This doesn’t mean you install a yard full of rocks and cacti. If you are looking to conserve water in your yard with the least amount of effort I have laid out these 5 easy steps for you to follow.

The photo below is my previous yard and I never used a single chemical in 9 years. There is no irrigation, only rain barrels and hand watering. I had 10 fruit trees, blackberries, raspberries, veggies, herbs, flowers and interest in every season.

Soil makes all the difference in the amount of success you have. If you do nothing else to amend your space, compost.

1) Reduce lawn 

Replace struggling lawns with low water landscapes that use  native and adapted plants. Central Texas native plants are used to drought conditions followed by a monsoon. Plant trees, shrubs and perennial plants with enough room to grow. Proper placement is key to the success of a mature garden as well as controlling maintenance and disease issues later on. Nobody wants a landscape that eventually turns into a blob.

I love this shot, it is a great view from the top of the hill to the seating area below. I have used a combination of TX perennials with seasonal annuals to make a statement of color with leaves in a really dark space.

This is one of my herb, fruit and veggie beds and I have barrels on either side for easy access.

This Coral Bean is a great example of a single trunk shrub that can be trimmed into a multi-trunk specimen tree.

Rain barrels are an excellent addition to any garden. They will pay for themselves with the water they save and your plants will love you for it.

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This is the best looking, low water, low to no maintenance death strip around!

Plants go strait into your beds, properly spaced no fuss, no guessing. Use my 20+ years of experience in the Central Texas landscape to save you time and money.

2) Add Feature and Functionality

Include river rock or stone paths to lead you to the next space or seating area. One of the worst design mistakes you can make is to seclude your living space to one area. No matter how small your space, you can always create different vantage points making it feel larger. This always creates areas with pervious (water can soak through) and impervious (cannot penetrate, such as concrete or stone) cover, so be sure you are up to code in the city limit or you could be in trouble later. Loose material like river rock, granite, mulch or gravel and pavers can be a great alternative for water absorption in an area that requires no water to look good.

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Lawns on a slope can be really challenging to water and may require more frequent short watering instead of one long one to achieve 1′ of water. If you r yard slopes set your irrigation to 2 or 3 cycles for shorter durations to achieve the necessary minutes.

A Stunning landscape begins with a professional, knowledgeable landscaper/designer/consultant who listens to your needs and gives you the most bang for your buck!

River rock is for NO WATER, NOT NO MAINTENANCE.

This is a shade garden where I have used contrast and color to create interest. Adding natural elements like river rock can also bring light to the space.

3) Create Larger Existing Beds and Seating Areas

Simple as that, increase your existing bed size by a couple of feet. Most older homes have overgrown beds anyway so why not embrace it and add some depth. Throw some low plantings in front, clean up and mulch and the whole bed and call it a day. Another great option is to lose the overgrown shrubs and replace them with a very simple, low profile garden with step stones to take up space. Feature and functionality. Updated, low water, low maintenance and a very easy do-it-yourself project.

Before:crowded over sized bushes. The house and architecture aren’t even visible.

Patio paver stepping stones

Seating area

AFTER! Even the simplest changes can make a huge impact.

This is an excellent example of a vine that works for you in its space.

4) Rain barrels

A free and easy way to conserve water on your own property. A 2000 sq ft house can collect as much as 30,000 gallons a year. No matter how you do that math, free is free all day and the barrels pay for themselves the first season. Many cities have rebates and free barrels, and all they require to work are gutters on your house. There are tons of how-to YouTube videos on set up and general maintenance which is basically nothing at all. Plants prefer rain water to city water and it is comforting to know you always have a back up just in case. Just be sure your barrel has never been used for chemicals of any kind.

This is a barrel we purchased online for a discount. They can be purchased from several reputable sites.

5) ORGANIC ALL THE WAY IN EVERY WAY!

This means we ditch the blue stuff, swear to never use “Weed and Feed”again, and make “Round Up’ the nasty words that they are.

Compost the lawn, beds and trees each spring. Mulch beds each fall and fertilize with corn meal, corn gluten, molasses, liquid seaweed and rock minerals like green sand, granite sand and lava sand. Mixing these dry products together at the right time of year can be used on your lawn for an organic weed and feed and recipes can be found all over the internet.
Purchase ladybugs, praying mantis or Trichogramma wasps and beneficial nematodes as your organic allies. Learn about companion planting. For every problem there is an organic solution. Chemicals kill your soil, can kill your plants and harm our planet. Why make bad choices when we don’t have to?
Make sure you have a nice depth of mulch to hold in moisture and keep soil temperatures at a safe place for frugal growth. Never use chemical treated or colored mulch, but choose native shredded mulch like hardwood or local shredded Cedar.

Compost removes previous chemical damage, retains more water in the soil and feeds the healthy bacteria and beneficial fungi your plants need for success. Chemical fertilizers make the plant reliant on you for food, need more water and are more vulnerable to pests and disease. Think of the forest and the natural break down of materials. Compost can save the world.

For more great information on conservation and water saving plant selections, please contact me for a landscape consultation or garden coach session in the Austin and surrounding area at lisalapaso@gmail.com.

Lisa LaPaso

Lisa’s Landscape & Design

“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”