When you’re searching for the right plants to add to your summer garden, there are many options available to you. Among the most beautiful and environmentally friendly gardens that you can create is a xeriscape garden.

Xeriscaping refers to the conservation of water through creative designing and planting. Originally developed for drought-afflicted areas, today the principles of xeriscape have a broadening appeal. With water considered an expensive and limited resource, landscaping projects can benefit from this alternative.

Xeriscaping lowers consumption of imported and ground water; xeriscape plants, along with soil grading and mulching, take full advantage of rainfall retention, with xeriscaping, less time and work is required for maintenance, while making gardening simpler and less stressful.

The world's first Xeriscape Demonstration Garden was created at the Denver Botanic Gardens in 1986. Its design was based on seven principles- water consumption, soil improvement, plant selection, irrigation, mulch, turf and maintenance.

Water Conservation The first and likely most important principle of xeriscaping is water conservation. It’s important to look for methods that you can use to reduce water use and increase the amount of natural precipitation that your plants receive when deciding which plants to choose and where to plant them.

Put together an initial plan before planting any plants that indicates the areas for turf, beds, views, screens, and slopes. All areas of shade and sun should be considered, which will allow you to determine water needs for the plants that you grow. Make sure that you also look at the drainage patterns and contours of the land while creating the plan.

Soil Improvement Soil amendment in a water-conserving landscape does two things: It drains quickly and stores water at the same time. This can be achieved by increasing the amount of organic material in your soil and keeping it well aerated. The top organic additive is compost, which is ideal for nearly all xeriscape plants.

Plant Selection When selecting plants it's important to include select native or adapted plants, along with drought-resistant plants. Group together plants with similar light and water requirements, and place them in an area that matches these requirements. Grassy areas will require the most water, while shrubs and perennial beds will require approximately half the amount of water. For south and west exposures, use plants that need only a minimum of water; along the north and east exposure, choose those that like more moisture. Planting trees helps to reduce evaporation by blocking wind and shading the soil.

Irrigate Efficient watering techniques for water conservation is the goal. Soaker hoses and drip-irrigation systems offer the easiest and most efficient watering for xeriscapes because they deliver water directly to the base of the plant thus reducing moisture loss from evaporation and encouraging root absorption at a slow rate.

Xeriscapes can be irrigated efficiently by hand or with an automatic sprinkler system. However, avoid oscillating sprinklers and sprinklers that throw water high in the air or release a fine mist. The most efficient sprinklers release big drops close to the ground. Water deeply and infrequently to develop deep roots. Do not water during the heat of the day to reduce the chance of evaporation, and if you have an automatic sprinkling system, install a rain sensor.

Mulch Mulch keeps plant roots cool, minimizes evaporation and reduces weed growth. Cover the soil around the plants with commercially produced mulch, leaves, coarse compost, pine needles, wood chips, or bark. Organic mulch will eventually incorporate into the soil and will need to be reapplied.

The mulch layer should be several inches thick with no spots of bare soil. Keep mulch three inches or more below the height of your slab to minimize the chance of termite infestation.

Turf Alternate turf may be the major modification for the home landscape, actually a change in the type of turf selected. Removing and replanting already established lawns can be an expensive option but may be a logical alternative for new homes and commercial development keeping in line with the popularity of the “going green” concept.

Research shows that “warm-season native grasses that have been cultivated for turf lawns, such as buffalo grass and blue grama, can survive with a quarter of the water that the cool season bluegrass varieties need. New cultivars of bluegrass, such as Reveille, and tall fescue, can reduce typical bluegrass water requirements by at least thirty percent. Fine fescues can provide substantial water savings and is best used in areas that receive low traffic or are in shady locations.”

Maintenance Maintenance is critical in a xeriscape garden. Avoid over-fertilizing lawns, and turf areas should not be cut too short. Taller grass (about three inches) is a natural mulch that shades the roots and helps retain moisture. Annuals and perennials in garden beds need some pruning from time to time to remove dead stems, promote blooming or control height and spread. Much of this plant material can then be used in the compost bin.

Xeriscape Plant Selections The suggestions and availability of viable xeriscape plant selections are numerous. Just a few of the varieties that are particularly popular in our area include the following:
• The Texas Ebony is a twenty-five-to-thirty-foot evergreen perennial tree with a dense dark green crown and spiny branches. An appealing habit of this tree is its continuous monthly blooming cycle of small cream/white blooms in summer months.
• The Texas Magnolia is a large ornamental landscape tree reaching heights of ninety feet or more. Attractive oval-shaped thick leathery dark green glossy leaves with rusty colored undersides adorn this evergreen beauty. In spring and summer, large showy fragrant blossoms appear. These blooms may be six to eight inches across, and cup-shaped, pure white petals with a splash of bright purple in their center.
• Oleanders are beautiful large flowering shrubs that thrive with little care, are heat- and drought- tolerant and grow especially well in seaside locations with salt spray and wind. Large cultivars will grow up to twelve feet tall and wide, while dwarf species may stay at three to five feet. Their speedy growth rate makes them ideal as a screen or informal hedge.
• Vinca or periwinkles are low-growing evergreen perennials with long stems of glossy green foliage. White, red or purple flowers appear from spring through fall.
• Pentas, a perennial evergreen, originated from tropical South Africa show with hairy green leaves and clusters of flowers in shades of red, white, pink, and purple.
• Plumbago is an easy-care evergreen with clusters of blue or white blooms that sprawl over the vine-like shrub for most of the year. They may be used as a ground cover or container specimen plant. • Moss rose or portulaca is a drought and heat tolerant plant in the purslane family, easily cultivated, with showy flowers that bloom all summer.

The theories of a xeriscape garden may take some time and effort to actually incorporate as a course of reality in individual home gardens and landscapes but taking one step at a time…converting one area at a time can eventually accomplish this worthwhile goal.

Meanwhile, as we are facing the daily challenges of just trying to keep something alive, we should follow Dr. William Johnson’s advice: “This is the time of year when we may tend to neglect our plants in the landscape and garden. A little care now will not only help your plants withstand the rigors of summer weather, it also will reward you with a flush of color during the late summer and fall seasons.”