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| Photo Credit: Bailey Nurseries |
| Penstemons, like this ‘Prairie Dusk’, are drought-tolerant plants with striking flowers that attract butterflies. |
Saving water – even in desert conditions – isn’t hard as long as you’re smart about it. You can still have a lush and lovely garden using a minimum amount of water. Here are 10 easy tips to get you started:
1. Readjust your attitudes. You can’t change your climate, but you can change the way you garden. Trying to have a landscape that looks like it’s growing in the heart of misty England when you really live in an arid climate is not only fruitless and wasteful, it’s a bit bizarre. Instead, celebrate what your region has to offer with fascinating shapes, colors and fragrances. You – and the planet – will rest easier. 2. Choose the right drought-tolerant plants for you and your location. Natives are always a great place to start. Look for native plant displays at garden centers or check out nurseries that specialize in them. There are hundreds of great drought-tolerant selections out there. Besides all the usual cacti and succulents, consider Mexican false heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia), oleander (Nerium oleander), penstemon, santolina and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). 3. Group plants according to water needs. Put plants that need ample water together and close to the house, where you can keep an eye on them. Locate plants that need only moderate water together and a bit farther out from your home. And place species that need the least amount of water the farthest out, where you can basically let them be. 4. Harvest rainwater. This gets easier every year as more garden centers carry rain barrels and other products intended to capture this precious liquid that would otherwise run through your downspout and away from your landscape. You can have one, two or even three barrels – some systems even deliver water directly to plants.
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