Going into summer months, a lot of us are worried – or at least wary – of our water consumption. Whether you have access to TID, a well, or just water from the city, it is always smart to think ahead and use your water wisely. Here at Ashland Greenhouses we grow several drought-tolerant plants that can be incorporated into your lawns and gardens to help ease the burden of using too much water.
Gaillardia, Russian Sage, and Yarrow are super popular plants that have lower water requirements. They will tough it out for summer and attract tons of bees as well! Sedums are excellent in dry climates. Sedums are a succulent plant and act very much like other succulent species by storing their water in their leaves. Succulents, Sedum, and all sorts of cacti are fantastic additions to xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is landscaping an area in a style that requires little to no irrigation. I’ve seen some beautiful examples of xeriscaping here in town, just walking around through the neighborhood! Rock walls are really popular here, and adding Delosperma, Wallflower, and Creeping Thyme to them always looks stellar.
If you want to take your water-wise approach further than just planting species that have low water requirements, consider some other easy things you can incorporate into your routine and home. If you use all natural soaps and cleansers, you can transition some of your surface irrigation to grey water. When you’re done using water to clean the dishes, wash your laundry, or yourself, that water can be used in your yard and garden! With a permit you can even install systems that help automate this. There are also rainwater capturing devices that you can get. Having the ability to use, and capacity to store excess rainwater is amazing! Fingers crossed we get a bunch more rain this summer.
With the blazing hot days, it’s important to water your garden earlier than later. Watering early in the morning, and watering deeply, gives your plants time to soak up what they need to make it through the middle of the day heat. If you water mid-day, the plants have to fight with the sun evaporating all of that precious water off of the ground before it gets a chance to soak down and up into the roots.
Give us a call (541) 482-2866, or email us at grow@ashlandgreenhouses.com if you have any questions! We are open 9am-4pm Monday through Saturday, and 10am-3pm pm Sunday.
We will see you soon,
Sarah Messenger
Retail Manager
