Plant cacti
3 units per m2
Water your garden
with a drip hose
system
20 units for 50m of
hose
Add Mulch to the top
surface of the soil –
5inches thick
5 units per m2
Water your garden at
10pm every day for a
year
50 units per m2
Plant lilies, which
have large leaves and
need lots of water
1 unit per m2
Leave soil as it is for
cacti
0 units per m2
Plant flowers such as
Mexican sunflower,
sweet Williams and
Iris - all local and
drought resistant
3 units per m2
Add mulch to the top
surface of the soil – 1
inch thick
2 units per m2
Plant witch hazel and
other drought
resistant shrubs
6 units per m2
Add mulch to the top
surface of the soil –
3 inches thick
3 units per m2
Plant an oak tree that
Plant juniper and
2
covers 10m
white poplar trees 2
30 units per m
drought resistant and
cover 5m2
12 units per m2
Add compost to the
soil – 1 inch thick
everywhere
50 Units
Add a rocky area to
the garden
2 units per m2
Water your garden at
12 noon every day for
a year
50 units per m2
Leave the land
naturally sloping
Free
Add terraces with
walls to a slope to
prevent soil loss and
water loss
100 units
Weeding once every
three months
5 units
Buy a sprinkler
system to water the
plants
10 units to cover
50m2
Plant drought
resistant local grass
2 units per m2
Add compost to the
soil – 3 inches thick
100 units
Buy a water butt to
collect water
5 units
Plant British grass
1 unit per m2
Weeding once a
month
2 units a month
Buy some tarmac for
the paths
50 units per 20m of
path
Buy a garden bench
5 units
A guide to Xeriscaping
Landscaping means to create a beautiful landscape (often a garden
or park) using flowers and plants and ornamental furniture.
Xeriscaping is exactly same – only it takes into account the fact
that there is a shortage of water for the plants and animals of the
environment. Indeed, Xeriscaping refers to the conservation of
water through creative landscaping
A xeriscaped garden
There are several key ideas;
Key idea or
principle
Conserve
water
Reasons why
In hot dry areas there is a shortage of
water, so reducing the amount of water
added to a garden (irrigation) and
reducing water loss to evaporation by the
suns heat is key.
Ways to xeriscape it!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Improve soils
Create limited
grass or turf
areas
Ideal soils in dry areas should drain
rainwater quickly from the surface to
reduce evaporation loss, and store the
water in the soil for use by plants.
6.
Grass areas die quickly in heat and dry
conditions – so they are not good for Las
Vegas! Reducing the amount of grassed
areas could massively reduce the amount
of water used in the city.
8.
9.
7.
10.
11.
Use
appropriate
plants
Plants in the Las Vegas area have adapted
to the hot and dry conditions that exist
there – foreign plants have not and may
die without regular watering.
12.
13.
Use mulch
Irrigate
responsibly
Maintain the
landscape
Using mulch, such as leaves, coarse
compost, pine needles, wood chips, bark
or gravel. Mulch helps retain soil moisture
and temperature, prevent erosion and
block out competing weeds. This also
fertilises the soil.
Watering during the heat of the day loses
loads of water – so water at night.
Sprinklers also lose lots of water so use a
hose that puts water to the base of the
plant.
Regular weeding gets rid of unwanted
plants which could steal water from the
plants you want
14.
Look at the aspect of the garden – North facing slopes
get less sun so lose less water, plants will do better here
than on hotter south facing slopes.
Look at shaded areas from trees and housing – these
areas require less water than exposed areas
Buy several water butts – these collect natural rainwater
Water plants at the correct time of day
Add terrace to the land which stop water flowing away
over slopes
Adding compost will improve the fertility and drainage of
soils.
Hardy drought resistant plants can survive in leaner
desert soils.
Keep turfed areas to a bare minimum.
Locate the turf under shaded areas to reduce water
losses.
Plant only grass seeds that can survive under dry
conditions
Don’t have narrow plots of grass – sprinklers will miss
large areas and this wastes water
Use native local drought-resistant plants. In general,
these plants have leaves which are small, thick, glossy,
silver-grey or fuzzy - all characteristics which help them
save water.
Plant some trees which help to reduce evaporation by
blocking wind and shading the soil
Cover the soil's surface around plants with a mulch. To
be effective, mulch needs to be several inches thick.
There should be no areas of bare soil.
15. Use drip hoses that deliver water to the root of the plant.
16. Water deeply and irregularly
17. Weed regularly
Source - http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_xeriscape.htm