Native and Xeriscape Landscaping

How can xeriscaping and native landscaping benefit your property? Xeriscaping is a form of landscaping that requires little to no irrigation. This system can help reduce costs associated with installation and maintenance of plants and irrigation systems. Xeriscaping usually utilizes drought-tolerant plants like succulents and plants native to your property’s area. Native landscaping and xeriscaping go hand-in-hand because xeriscaping techniques often utilize native plants to reduce irrigation needs and promote longevity in a landscape. In Commercial Real Estate, landscape design is incredibly important to the overall look and feel of a property. However, the environmental impact of a landscape should be a high consideration as well. Native landscaping and xeriscaping can reduce overall maintenance costs and water usage while simultaneously providing habitats for pollinators and other native species. “It’s a technique that’s employed to reduce your irrigation requirements. Typically, you’re going to use native and adapted plants” says Joe Sorbet, Director of Engineering for Collaborative Real Estate.

Environmental Impact

Using native plants in xeriscaping reduces maintenance costs and encourages landscaping professionals to utilize native plants. Native plants are enormously beneficial to pollinators like honeybees and butterflies. Other native wildlife such as various bird species benefit from native plants as food sources and shelter. Birds and native plants have a symbiotic relationship because the native species provide food and shelter, and the native birds help pollinate and spread seeds of native plants. In the Southeastern region of the United States, Wood-Storks, Chuck-Will’s-Widows, and Swainson’s Warblers are a few native bird species. In the Southwestern United States, California Condors, Brown-Capped Finches, and Black Rosy-Finches are common. While some birds may be native to a specific region, the migratory nature of many of these species allows for them to benefit from native plants across many regions. Xeriscaping reduces water use and costs associated with high water usage. “Just by the nature of it being xeriscape you’re going to use less water” adds Sorbet. According to Sorbet, after his organization switched to xeriscaping, their irrigation water usage decreased by 90 percent. Additionally, xeriscaping not only reduces water usage but can also help reduce energy usage as well. The reduction of energy used to treat and deliver water to a property not only saves money but also reduces their carbon footprint. “Something that people don’t take into consideration is that there’s a carbon cost to water usage. Around 2 percent of the of the total electrical consumption in the United States is dedicated to treating and delivering water for domestic, commercial, or industrial use” adds Sorbet.

Sorbet explains that planting drought tolerant or low maintenance trees provides shade which in turn can reduce a building’s air conditioning use. He also adds that the trees and shrubs help improve the air quality in the building’s area.

Costs

The largest expense associated with transitioning to a xeriscape landscape is removing your current landscape to plant drought resistant or native plants. Altering your irrigation system to accommodate less need for water like a drip irrigation system can also be a large expense. These alternative sprinkler systems will save water as conventional sprinkler systems allow evaporation to take place, resulting in an ineffective use of water while drip irrigation targets lower areas on the plant to help prevent evaporation. After installation costs, xeriscape landscapes need little maintenance because they do not need regular watering or usually any watering at all. Xeriscaping and native landscaping saves time, money, water, energy, and more.

Understanding xeriscaping is the first step towards maintaining a minimal maintenance landscape. Making educated decisions about your landscape can reduce spending down the line. “The real forward-thinking technology is even though it’s a reduced irrigation requirement, still micromanaging that irrigation requirement for your xeriscape landscape and having satellite control of your irrigation and monitoring the weather conditions, et cetera” indicates Sorbet.

With native landscaping, plants require less maintenance in terms of soil and water and are more persistent through inclement weather conditions. After initial instillation, native plants are inexpensive to maintain since they are acclimated to survive in their own environment.

Native plants are also more likely to thrive in their environment, reducing the risk of having to replant and the associated costs. Reduced maintenance on a landscape directly translates to reduced labor costs as well.

Executive Director of the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council, Mary Kay Woodworth states that property managers and owners “recognize that they’ve got to have a low maintenance landscape and have less inputs on the landscape.” Less inputs on a landscape means reduced maintenance costs. Inputs on a landscape include anything used to maintain a landscape such as pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation systems, machinery, and more. Native landscaping reduces the need for unnecessary inputs on a landscape.

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“Ultimately, in the long run over the life of the of the facility, [xeriscaping] is going to save a ton of money” says Sorbet. Ecological health is a key factor for some tenants when comparing various properties and lush native landscapes are a great selling point. Xeriscaping and native landscaping reduce costs in labor and water, lowers environmental impact, and reduces the need for expensive irrigation systems. Native plants thrive in their indigenous climate and can create a vibrant landscape that appeals to potential tenants while simultaneously saving money and being environmentally beneficial. Xeriscaping with native plants reduces overall water consumption. But the benefits don’t end there. A reduction in energy usage because of building cooling provided by tree shade and reduced need for water transportation and irrigation systems. The trees and other plants provide shade for buildings and shelter for local pollinators as well as reduce water usage, transportation, and lower costs on irrigation system maintenance. Why wait? Explore xeriscaping with native plants at your property and explore all the benefits it can bring today!

Sources:

Joe Sorbet, Director of Engineering for Collaborative Real Estate Mary Kay Woodworth, Executive Director of the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council

Find out how we can create a meaningful landscape at your property. Zach Stokes

Zach.Stokes@LandCare.com 678-708-7761