Xeriscape Garden

Fall 2004, Xeriscape Garden

The word xeriscape comes from the Greek word xeros, meaning dry. Xeriscaping, literally means "dry landscaping," but is generally used to refer to landscaping that maximizes the efficient use of water in gardens and landscapes. If you plant the right plant in the right place—e.g., drought tolerant plants in a xeriscape—once your garden is established, it shouldn't need supplemental watering.

Water-wise landscaping includes using plants with lower water requirements and minimizing water waste in the garden. In some households, as much as 40 percent of the water used each month finds its way into the landscape, so future freshwater supplies depend upon wise outdoor water use.

You can reduce the amount of water used to maintain your landscape and save yourself a lot a work. For the most part, reducing water use means changing your plant selection, as well as watering practices. If native plants are selected and planted according to their preferred conditions, once the garden is established (approximately two months), your garden will thrive without supplemental watering under normal conditions; that includes a xeriscape garden or any other type of native plant garden.

Located at the entrance to Adams Academy at Adams Park school grounds, the raised area or mound (which tends to be drier) was created with excess soil that was dug out to create a swale for the Biolog Rain Garden (xeriscapes and rain gardens compliment each other well in this respect). The garden was designed by Zora Lathan, and planted by volunteers and Adams Academy students.

Pictures:

Click on the thumbnail image below for a larger picture and description

Size: 572 square feet

Plant List:

• Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
• Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
• Gray Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
• Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
• Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
• Shaggy Blazingstar (Liatris spicata)
• Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
• Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve var. laeve)
• Hyssop Thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium)
• Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina)