We decided to dig out part of our front lawn and put in drought tolerant plants. This landscaping with drought tolerant and native plants is called Xeriscaping. We are starting with the front strip near the street, called the “Parkway”.
Xeriscaping will benefit us in many ways, but these are our main reasons for wanting to do this project:
- Lower water consumption
- Less time and work needed for maintenance, making gardening simpler and less stressful
- Less lawn mowing (saves Dan’s energy)
First, we had to call the “call before you dig” number. There were nine organizations that had to come out to mark our parkway. We are one of the “lucky” neighbors who have all the city utilities close by. URG! It only took those organizations two days to come out, so it wasn’t too bad.
Then, we had to stake off the area.
The staked off Parkway
We have started to dig (and, by “we”, I mean “Dan”).
The digging has begun in the parkway
Our goal is to complete this project by the end of the year. Then, we will move onto another area of the front lawn. Wish us luck, and check back on the Xeriscaping progress. Here’s a link to all the posts.
Jacki says
October 27, 2009 at 5:46 pmI’ll be watching with interest to see how your project goes. I’m curious to know what plants you’ll put in. Will they need to be salt tolerant, too?
admin says
October 28, 2009 at 6:36 amCool, thanks!
We are still in the plant deciding process, but once we get them, I’ll be sure to post them. Some of the plants we will propagate from ones already on the property. No, they don’t need to be salt tolerant here- we live far enough away from the ocean.
Thanks!