Many people water their yards to excess.
If you want to keep your yard looking amazing, you don’t need to go crazy with the hose.
Here’s what you need to know to keep a beautiful lawn without wasting water.
Plan Out Your Landscaping To Minimize Water Needs
Planning out your landscaping is important.
It’s one of the best ways to reduce water usage.
By planting shrubs and plants that don’t need a lot of water, for example, you can reduce the
amount of water that’s needed to water them and keep them healthy.
Sometimes, the solution is to eliminate yard space altogether.
If you can replace grass with mulch or other forms of ground cover, it reduces the amount of
watering needed.
Professional landscapers can also help you design a yard that doesn’t use a lot of water.
They may incorporate different yard features, like rocks, low-water shrubs, mulch, and paved
surfaces, like patios, which will reduce the amount of ongoing maintenance required.
A professional landscaper may cost you several thousand dollars, depending on how much work
you want done.
And, you need to be mindful about hiring someone that knows how to design a yard with the
goal of minimizing water usage.
Not all landscapers know how to do this.
A focus on “green” landscaping would be ideal.
Most of these types of landscapers will spend a great deal of time planning out your yard
before implementing solutions and they should work with you on the plans to make sure it’s
still aesthetically pleasing.
“It is important to be mindful about
hiring a landscaper who knows
how to design a yard with the
goal of minimizing water usage.”
Use Automated Sprinklers
For grass that needs to be watered, there’s always professional watering systems, like the
sprinklers at www.ProIrrigation.com.
These systems range from traditional sprinklers to sophisticated irrigation systems that conserve
water while still keeping your yard looking amazing.
Some of the best systems are completely automated, and account for factors like sunshine and shade.
So, it’s possible to have a system that factors in the amount of sun your yard gets, the time of day
your lawn is watered, and the amount of water your yard gets.
If your house loses power, these systems sometimes also include a battery backup so that your
lawn stays pretty.
Use Mulches
Mulch as ground cover is one of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of yard you have to maintain.
Because it’s moist, it keeps the ground wet, and can even enhance soil moisture, thus reducing the
amount of water needed by your lawn (where there is grass and other plants).
Mulches also keep plants cool, minimizes evaporation, prevents soil from crusting over, and reduces
the potential for weed growth.
Mulch does need to be laid down periodically, but usually this is cheaper than non-stop watering.
And, if you live in a dry climate, mulch can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year.
Plant More Trees
A trick that some homeowners use is to plant more trees.
By planting trees, you take up more yard space, reduce the amount of grass that needs to be
watered, and provide shade for your grass and other plants.
Even though trees need water, they have extensive root systems and usually don’t need watering.
Meanwhile, they provide shade for plants which can’t tolerate direct sunlight.
The shade keeps the grass and yard cool, which reduces the need for watering.
Trees that work the best are those that provide a lot of shade.
Use Irrigation Systems
Inexpensive soaker hoses will send water through thousands of tiny holes along the length of the
rubber tubing.
If you snake these through the yard, or through shrubbery, and set up a timer for watering,
you can cut water usage by up to 70 percent over conventional sprinklers.
It also gets the water to where it needs to be.
These types of systems are inexpensive to set up, but they can be labor intensive if you have
a large yard.
Some people opt for a drip system which consists of plastic tubing with small, targeted, emitters
which drip water at a specific rate.
“Irrigation systems can help
you use less water and that
that saves you money.”
These systems target the plants you’re trying to encourage and not the spaces in-between,
which means you’re not wasting water and not feeding weeds.
You end up using less water and that saves you money.
Drip irrigation is another system that’s popular.
They run efficiently and are excellent options for home gardens.
Unlike traditional systems, they drip water into the soil, getting moisture directly where
it’s needed.
You can also set these systems up on a timer, which means you never overwater your
plants and soil.
About the Author:
Steve Saville has worked as a landscaping contractor for many years. He likes to offer his expertise and thoughts online . He’s shared his thoughts with a number of landscape and gardening website.
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