When people hear the word “desert landscaping” they picture themselves cacti, driftwood, tumbleweeds and the like. This style of landscaping is called zero-scaping. Although this style doesn’t demand special maintenance, its drawback is that it has no individuality. If you live in a dry climate and want to preserve water you shouldn’t make your yard full of life. Your main aim is to comprise your natural setting and also retain some color and foliage.
 It should be mentioned that xeriscaping is gaining popularity among homeowners. If you translate it literally from the Greek it means "dry scene" (xero-scape).
It is helpful in conserving water and energy and creates the yard which is suitable for the natural landscape and climate. It is not necessary to make your lawn look like a forest if you live in the desert.
Less Maintenance, More Savings
In spite of the fact that you will be able to conserve the water due to xeriscaping, this style has also a lot of financial benefits. That’s why if you want to save more money you should choose “dry design” which also suits the environment and has a pleasing aesthetic look. You won’t need to fight the climate and make your lawn grow in unnatural way. Water conservation will reduce your water bills. You shouldn’t also provide extra fertilization. It requires less pest control and costly chemicals. You don’t have to maintain, prune and trim it too much. All these factors help you save the environment and at the same time your time, money and effort.
Preplanning
It is necessary to make some preparations in order to reach your goal. You should hire a professional landscape designer who can help you create the right design.
Appropriate Planting
It is crucial in xeriscaping to choose the right kinds of plants. Generally it should include native species that don’t need too much watering and can resist the heat. Although drought-tolerant plants are required you shouldn’t take just cactus and yucca. There are a lot of different kinds of tough desert lawns, turfs and flowers which are bright and colorful. You should purchase plants which can be rooted deeply and able to resist harsh climates. It is also beneficial to plant your vegetation in grouping in order to provide good watering.
Water Conservation
Water conservation is a great advantage for you and also for the government. Buying plants that don’t require much water is very helpful but there are also other ways for preserving water.
At first it is necessary to buy a drip-irrigation system. This sprinkler system runs along pipes all around your lawn and slowly drips water right onto the vegetation. It works like a gentle rainfall or a dewy morning. It helps you reduce wasteful inexactitude when extra water spreads on the siding of your home and driveway and over-watering. It also doesn’t let the water evaporate in the air immediately by the high winds. In case if you have traditional sprinkles it is necessary to water plants in the mornings or evenings. At this time the soil has better ability to soak up moisture.
Soil Conservation
By its nature desert soil is impervious to water conservation. It rapidly soaks up the water, dries it out and releases it into the atmosphere. The simple way out is to mulch it as much as possible. It assists in cooling the ground, preserving water and reducing your energy bills and the costs on its maintenance. Also you are able to provide bigger projects. For example you can restructure the soil in such a way that the plants could preserve any moisture for a longer period of time. It is not very easy to be done and also expensive but the time and energy put into this investment will return to you.
Conclusion
In spite of the fact that xeriscaping is a very popular landscaping style among people living in dry climates like for example in the West and Southwest it is not suitable for the other countries. That’s why it is necessary to refer you neighbors and the association of homeowners in order to find out whether this re-design is available. However if desert landscaping is not banned you should consider the philosophy behind the design. For example if you live in the Midwest or Northeast you need to create a yard that be in harmony with the region’s natural landscape and climate. Try to mix it with the natural world and it will help you decrease your work and save more money.
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