How To: Drought-Resistant Gardening

Residents of the United States raise 40 million acres of turf grass crops every year, more than any other crop. Some, in areas where water is expensive or scarce, are looking to modify their lawns and gardens by planting less water-intensive plants.

Like any project where one diverges from the standard way of doing things, the process can seem intimidating. In an article for Curbed, Kate Losse spoke with landscape architects in drought-plagued Southern California to get their insights into handling this issue. Among other suggestions, they advised that anyone intending to change their outdoor space budget time for research into both their specific lawn and the plants that might flourish there. Losse was also told that no garden is a set it and forget it proposition. "Experts caution that just because a garden is drought-tolerant, doesn’t mean it doesn’t need attention, and that paying attention to your garden and its needs is a crucial element to its growth," the Curbed piece reports.

There have certainly been misadventures in reducing water use in gardens, but the Curbed piece aims to show how the project can be managed to fit the climate and the ambition of the gardener.