We're traveling to some of the driest gardens on earth—from Australia to Texas to Greece—to round up 11 eco-friendly landscape design tips that won't force you to sacrifice style to save water:
Gravel Ground
Above: Texas landscape architect Christine Ten Eyck designed an outdoor dining space with gravel underfoot. The neutral color blends with natural surroundings. It's a permeable paving material that feels good to walk on—and it captures groundwater. Photograph by Terrence Moore.
Potted Plants
Above: In Texas, architect professor John G. Fairey started work on his seven-acre Peckerwood garden four decades ago. For more, see A Texas Garden Where the Rare and Endangered Flourish.
Fairey saves water with container plants that he can water efficiently. Groupings of potted plants also can create architectural interest in spots where soil conditions are inhospitable.
Shady Spots
Above: Photograph via Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture.
In northern California, a tree with a generous, spreading canopy can create a focal point in the garden and provide shade in a sunny, arid climate. As a general rule of thumb, the diameter of a tree's canopy is an indication of the size of its root system underground, as well.
Permeable Patios
Above: In Provence, an enclosed courtyard garden has groupings of container plants to soften the look of stone walls and a crushed stone courtyard. Photograph via Wall Street Journal.
A patio paved with crushed stone or gravel is an inviting, forgiving surface and creates a permeable surface to prevent water runoff. For more ideas, see Hardscaping 101: Decomposed Granite.
Drip Irrigation
Above: In Australia, garden designer Peter Fudge used drought tolerant plants including lavender, olive trees, and Japanese boxwood to create a classically formal garden design. For more, see Garden Designer Visit: Lavender Fields in Australia.
Designer Fudge recommends installing a drip irrigation system to efficiently direct water toward the roots of drought tolerant plants. Water deeply, but infrequently. Allow the ground to dry out completely between waterings. For more, see Hardscaping 101: Drip Irrigation.
Graywater
Above: For more of this drought tolerant San Francisco garden by garden designer Beth Mullins, see A City Garden with a Spectacular View. Photograph by MB Maher.
Recycle laundry and shower water—known as graywater—to use in the garden. Keep a bucket in the kitchen sink to rinse dishes and at the end of the day use it to water container plants. For more tips, see Ask the Expert: 7 Ways to Use Graywater in the Garden.
Sunblock
Above: A black awning provides shade and visual interest to a drought-resistant garden in Southern California. For more of this 2,100-square-foot stucco house, see All Era Welcome: A Spanish Colonial Update in LA. Photograph by Laure Joliet.
Keep living spaces—both indoors and out—cooler by installing an awning to block the sun's rays. For awning styles and fabrics, see 10 Easy Pieces: Window Awnings.
Crowd Control
Above: In Northern California, baby lettuces rare eady to be harvested at the French Laundry Culinary Garden in Yountville. For more, see Garden Visit: The French Laundry in California's Napa Valley.
In the vegetable garden, plant edibles close together to minimize water requirements. For more organic edible gardening tips, see Gone Wild: How to Grow Vegetables in the Middle of Nowhere.
Boxwood
Above: Photograph via Paul Bangay.
Extremely drought tolerant, boxwood is an evergreen that will provide color and structure year round in the garden. For more ideas about how to use the shrub, see 9 Ways to Create Curb Appeal with Boxwood.
Drifts of Color
Above: In Australia, a colorful drought landscape of perennial plants. Photograph via Paul Bangay.
Mass planting of a single variety of a drought tolerant plant can create a painterly swath of color in the garden. For a romantic combination (as shown above), combine Sedum 'Autumn Joy' (pink) with lavender (purple), and a silvery perennial grass (foreground). For more ideas, see A Garden You Water Four Times a Year.
Succulents
Above: In an Australian garden, potted hens and chicks succulents create visual interest among a field of perennial grasses. Photograph via An Outdoor Life Mag.
A particularly useful succulent in the garden is Sempervivum, of which there are more than 3,000 varieties. Commonly known as hens and chicks, low-growing dense rosette clusters of Sempervium can be used as a ground cover, in containers, or as an edging plant. They thrive in dry conditions in full sun and spread rapidly. For more on succulents, see DIY: How to Root Succulents from Leaves.
Are you designing a new garden or just hoping to make yours more drought tolerant? For more ideas, see:
- 7 Ways to Save Water in the Garden, from a Graywater Crusader
- Ask the Expert: 11 Tips for Designing a Drought Resistant Garden
- 10 Things You Need to Know to Garden in the Desert
- Garden Visit: Peckerwood in Texas, Where Rare and Endangered Plants Flourish
- Designer Visit: Barbara Hill in Texas
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