Much of Texas is hot and arid, thus conserving water can be an important part of your gardening experience. In Dallas, the water department estimates that 50 percent of the city’s drinking water is used to water lawns and gardens in the summer! This means that half of the money spent on water bills during the summer goes towards watering the lawn.

One way to reduce the amount of water needed to maintain your landscape – and lower your water bill – is to xeriscape. Xeriscaping involves using water wise plants and technologies such as drip irrigation to create a landscape that will thrive, even under extreme heat and dry conditions.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you can use the following xeriscaping strategies to reduce your water consumption and get the most out of your yard:

• Water your plants and turf deeply and less frequently. Frequent, shallow watering keeps plant roots too close to the surface of your yard. Less frequent watering trains roots to go deeper into the ground, where they are better protected from the Texas heat and better prepared to grow strong, resulting in bigger and healthier plants.
• Use an automated sprinkler system to maintain your yard. Incorporate a rain sensor to ensure that your system does not run during rain events.
• Audit your sprinkler system by observing where and how long your watering zones need to run. Reposition sprinkler heads so that you’re not sprinkling the sidewalk or street. Using empty tin cans as measuring devices, run zones for as long as it takes for the cans to fill with one inch of water and then program your sprinkler system accordingly.
• Take note of what side of the house you’re planting on and where and how much sun there is in these areas. When planning the layout of your garden or yard, make sure plants that are next to each other require the same amount of water. This makes watering much easier.
• Use native and adaptive plants that can take hot Texas summers without requiring copious amounts of water or care. These plants use 80% less water and require fewer pesticides and fertilizers to thrive in the Texas environment.

Not sure how to get started with xeriscaping? An experienced landscaping contractor can work with you to develop a landscaping plan that incorporates water-wise plants and technologies. The investment you make in xeriscaping will pay off quickly by conserving water and saving you money on your water bills, but it will also beautify your home, attract native butterflies and hummingbirds, and prevent and reduce storm water pollution. And the best part is, xeriscaping principles can be incorporated into any style of landscape design including traditional, English, Japanese, Southwestern or Italian.