As many parts of the US face drought or dryer than normal conditions and issues about water availability especially in the western states, many gardeners are reassessing their relationships with plants and irrigation. Many gardeners, especially in the west, are replacing their lawns and landscape plants with more drought and dry-weather tolerant options. But there still are times when irrigation might still be necessary, e.g., growing vegetables and fruits, establishing new plants, and more. Using water efficiently and effectively is key in these situations even when water is available and drought conditions aren’t as prevalent.… Continue reading this article “Don’t get hosed: exploring the efficiencies of garden and landscape irrigation systems”
Tag: drought
Plant lists that shouldn’t exist
Nothing drives me crazier than simplistic solutions to complex problems. Given our changing climate, there has been an explosion of “drought tolerant” and “firewise” plant lists in the gardening world. Most of these lists are devoid of science and all of them are removed from reality. The fact is that taxonomy plays a minimal role in determining whether a plant will tolerate environmental extremes.
