When you drive through a place like Anaheim, it is difficult to see the fact that we are more of a desert climate than the homes would lead you to believe. Most people in our area will have lush lawns and feature landscaping elements that are not natural to the area. The majority of these types of plants grow well in our type of climate, being warm the majority of the year, but lack the amounts of natural rainfall that would allow them to grow here without human assistance. While there is nothing wrong with this due to the fact that water is now available through artificial sprinkler systems, the issues arise when the water levels that the community depends on start running low. It is our responsibility to conserve water so that there is enough to assure all people will have access to it in order to sustain life, and unfortunately our plants and lush landscaping is not as important as human life. Everyone understands that if you restrict the amounts of water that can be used for landscaping then some people are going to lose their investments, but that is necessary until the drought conditions themselves lessen.
One step that you can take that will not only assure that you are doing your part to conserve but also will improve your yard is through the installation of “water smart” landscaping. There are several schools of thought with regards to this type of action, and each type of water smart plan has it’s own elements. The easiest way to do your part is to simply remove your grass and water loving plants, either replacing them with nothing or some form of ground covering live pavers or cement. While this does solve the problem, it is not as aesthetically pleasing as some of the other methods, and ultimately will probably be accentuated in some ways using other types of water smart elements. “Xeriscaping” is the process of combining different elements that are either low water of no water in a way that looks classy and interesting. The idea is to create a unique area that is not necessarily trying to mimic the look of a higher water use landscape using different elements. Instead, xeriscaping challenges the norms of what we would typically consider the traditional yard space, and uses elements like walls, paths, lighting and pavers to achieve a dramatic result. “Desert landscaping” is a form of xeriscaping that leans toward mimicking the beauty of the desert itself, which is a low water environment. This style will typically use cacti and other plants to achieve a desert look that needs little to no sprinklers. The last form of landscaping is the installation of artificial turf in order to mimic a lush and green lawn without the necessity of water. Synthetic grass is made of plastic, and will typically eliminate the need for any water at all while still looking like you have green grass.
If youa re interested in exploring low or no water landscaping ideas for your Orange County home, contact us for a free estimate.
