If you're familiar with xeriscaping or ecoscaping, you might have thought at one time or another that you didn't need to worry about water-conserving landscaping techniques. However a recent Associated Press story I saw online reported that at the end of March 46% of the country was experiencing drought conditions. This was according to the National Climatic Data Center. The number of us battling droughts has not risen since January, but considering that almost 60% of the country didn't have enough water last Summer I'd be preparing for another dry spell as we get closer to June, July, and August. In short, we all need to be thinking about conserving water, and this couldn't be more true for professional and amateur gardeners, landscapers, and agriculturalists.

So What Is Xeriscaping?

Traditional xeriscape is a type of landscaping that promotes the use of water-conserving techniques, irrigation, and drought-tolerant plants native to arid climates. Ideal xeriscaping would give gardeners and landscapers more control over how they use water, without restricting how they garden or landscape. Typically xeriscapists have come from the Mid-West and other drier regions of the country, so using drought-resistant plants and other water-conscious methods in their landscaping made sense.

But with half the country either in the middle of, or just recovering from, a long, dry season most of us should start to consider xeriscaping as a valid means of water conservation. Though how many of us would want to start planting cacti, shorter grasses and shrubs, or other varieties of desert flora that we're not used to seeing every day? Fortunately our options don't have to be so limited.


Xeriscaping and Water Holding Gels

Xeriscape practices haven't really grown outside of the parts of the US most often hit by droughts. In fact, a Denver Water committee coined the term "xeriscape" over twenty years ago. Perhaps, for this reason, most of the recent articles I've seen about xeriscaping have focused solely on the Mid and South West.

More surprising, though, is the lack of discussion about water retaining crystals and their role in the xeriscaper's toolbox. It makes perfect sense when you think about it, hydrogels, or superabsorbent polymers, like Water-Keep are known to retain water up to 400 times their original volume, which they slowly release as needed. Water crystals not only cut watering time nearly in half, they are environmentally safe and work up to seven years.
 
So Who Should Use Water Crystals?

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from using water holding crystals in their gardening and landscaping projects. Best of all, hydro gels, when properly used, make all plants drought-resistant so we don't have to landscape with plants that aren't natural to our location.

Also, if you're xeriscaping with naturally drought-tolerant plants, their already limited water needs will be maximized and cut, once again, by 50%!

We can't control the weather, however much we would like to, but we can control how we conserver the water given to us. So, like it or not, xeriscaping will continue to become a national practice.

Water conserving landscaping alone is proven to save both water and money. Combining xeriscape techniques with Water-Keep saves so much time and money that they take the pain out of water conservation, and return the fun to gardening and landscaping year-round.
 
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