See Details Below for Upcoming Free Class

Read this before you Zero-scape!

Do I have a typo in this title? Only on purpose. Most people who have heard of xeriscaping pronounce it like "zero-scaping." And they essentially mean and believe that it calls for the removal of most plants. They see that we are in a severe drought here in Colorado and they think, screw it, I'm ripping out our grass and putting in rock.

Then they look into it a bit more and decide to put down weed barrier before the rock. They think it's going to look like a lovely zen garden and they won't have to water it or do anything really ever again as far as maintenance. By the way, xeriscape and xeric have the same root, the latter rhymes with Eric, to hopefully assist you with the pronunciation. They both describe plants or using plants in a way that requires less water.

They don't realize that within 2-3 years, any tree in or near this area will either die or have extreme dieback due to the fact that you no longer water the area around it (its root zone). That weed barrier and that rock will not keep out weeds and they have just inadvertently signed up for regular herbicide applications, which speed up the decline of your trees as well as the bee population. And the whole area will get hotter.

So what are some alternatives? First let's talk about the lowest-cost alternatives compared to putting in rock only. The rock may seem relatively inexpensive, and the weed barrier only slightly less so, and people tend to assume that it will pay off in water savings quickly. They don't factor in the cost of ongoing herbicide applications until later. And when it gets hot and they start having doubts, it is a royal pain in the *$$ to remove. Not to mention your soil quality will be severely degraded.

If you have a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, there are some programs that may assist you to remove it and plant a "Garden in a Box" if available in your area. This is a great alternative, but it does still cost a bit of money and take a bit of labor. If not available to you, you can most cheaply try overseeding your lawn with wildflowers, buffalograss or grama seed, clover, or some combination of these. NOW.

I know that most places in Metro Denver have asked you not to turn on your irrigation until May. And new seeds do need some water to get established. If you can hand-water, great. But now, March, April, are the best times to get new seeds going outside. Sometimes they need some cold before they will germinate. Even if they don't need cold, the cooler, slightly moister weather now is least stressful for starting new plants growing.

If you can afford it, planting sod for a buffalograss or grama lawn will save you lots of water and mowing after established. This does require removing your bluegrass lawn first. Buffalograss sod is a bit more expensive, but can really pay off with time. The reason I do not recommend removing bluegrass lawn then seeding buffalograss is because the weeding is extremely labor intensive. If you just overseed, the bluegrass will prevent so many weeds from growing.

While I advise against using too much rock, and especially against weed barrier, there are some exceptions. I have one bed out front of my place with rock and weed barrier, and it's just too much work for me to remove all of it. I have removed some of the weed barrier, but most of the rock is still there. Herbicide was used there for years so I don't grow anything I intend to eat.

But I have spread seeds and gotten plenty of things to grow both around, on top of, and through the weed barrier, just like the weeds can do. I have sunflowers, catmint, columbines, borage, yarrow, and a few wildflowers I'm not totally sure of the name of since I got them for free as a mix. Rock can also be needed on sloped areas. But the best thing for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds, as well as to keep out weeds better than a barrier, is to plant xeric perennial groundcovers, preferably blooming, like these I listed.

Finally, overseeding any lawn with white clover or purple prairie clover (latter is native, taller) will help support pollinators and improve soil quality because clover fixes nitrogen into the soil with its roots. It requires little water once established and will tend to grow in the areas where the bluegrass is doing the worst. And with white clover, you may find some with four leaves now and then!

I will be teaching a free class through Meetup about xeriscaping on April 1 at the Arvada Community Garden - check it out here!https://www.meetup.com/xeriscape-havens-meetup-group/​

You absolutely can conserve water in ways that support life rather than eradicate it. If you really want to conserve water and water quality, limit your use of AI and bitcoin as much as possible - each inquiry and transaction produces so much heat at data centers that it takes swimming pools full of water to cool.

You can also check out my website for more: AmyCarynJohnson.com. I am offering services geared more toward harmonizing our environs, mostly outdoors but also indoors. But I am also pursuing a masters degree at the moment, so I will not have a lot of availability yet.

DISCLAIMERS *I am not a healthcare professional. This guidance is given only to support a healthy connection with nature. If you have any health problems, mental or physical, please seek professional help.