Xeriscaping Brings Harmony to Nature

XERISCAPING

Brings Harmony to Nature

By Amber Ahronian and Mark Ahronian

In times of water bans, flagging foliage, and brown lawns, it is time to look to concepts that can help us maintain the beauty and vitality of our landscapes. We can draw from ideas that already exist. Often talked about in the southeastern United States, but becoming increasingly relevant in the Northeast, is a concept called xeriscaping.

Xeriscaping is the practice of reducing the number of inputs — water, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, maintenance, and time — that go into caring for landscapes. It incorporates many ideas that many already employ or could easily try for themselves.

• Achieving efficient irrigation by grouping plants with similar watering needs, grouping plants with different root depths to avoid competition, using drip irrigation rather than other methods, and watering in early morning or late evening when evaporation is less intense all aid in the goal of reducing water use.

An efficient irrigation program avoids overwatering in the early season because that promotes growth that may not be able to be maintained later in the season during water bans. A signal plant, such as the herbaceous and large-leafed sunflower, can indicate through wilting or lack thereof when watering is needed.

More gardeners kill plants by overwatering than underwatering.

• Along the same lines, pruning and fertilizing should be timed correctly, meaning neither should be performed during water scarcity because that promotes growth that may not be able to be sustained.

• Reducing the area that is covered by resource-demanding turfs. • Amending soil with compost, which holds water and nutrients more effectively than synthetics.

Composting is also in line with protecting soil aggregates that allow for better water infiltration. Avoiding disturbing the soil in ways that break apart the aggregates aids in water uptake efficiency.

• Many already use mulch, which is a great way to reduce evaporative water loss and prevent erosion, again protecting soil aggregates.

The idea is to keep the beauty of a garden while being in harmony with nature. This can mean favoring native plants. However, under a xeriscape tree, there may be a cooler, moister microclimate that allows an ornamental plant to grow without requiring much additional maintenance. Taking advantage of these details that come from an intimate knowledge of the design of a landscape allows us to explore the opportunity for xeriscaping. To exemplify the strengths of xeriscaping, here are several xeriscaping plants that thrive unlike their neighboring plants because they were the correct plant for that location. They were selected appropriately and are performing well. They add colorful and textural interest, aid in the sequence of color, and/or attract pollinators in ways that other plants in their place would not have.

Blue Spruce

This magnificent blue spruce stands tall despite the lack of watering. During a long drought that has caused surrounding grass to brown, the tree persists. Ahronian Landscaping provided this tree to MNLA, and it was subsequently planted in Holliston, Massachusetts, to commemorate former

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State Representative Carolyn Dykema’s Environmental Leadership Award. How appropriate that a xeriscaping tree be used to celebrate environmental leadership and achievement!

Butterfly Bush

A butterfly enjoys the newest round of flowers on this butterfly bush. This is not the first round of blooms on the plant, indicating that it has been providing color and wildlife interest over the course of the season thanks to its drought tolerance.

Geraniums

These geraniums pop with color in hanging pots near the hot roof of a house on a summer day. Not planted in the ground, they rely on hand watering, which is provided only when bone dry. They love it dry. They take sun for several hours per day in this location and provide a red-magenta showiness.

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Green Juniper

This green juniper lives in stark contrast to the brown lawn beside it. It is planted appropriately on a slope to prevent erosion from runoff and to solve the landscape problem of mowing grass on an incline. Although it is positioned adjacent to a heavily trafficked road that is salted every winter, this dense juniper stands up to that challenge.

Ornamental Plum

Amidst struggling grass, an ornamental plum tree produces edible plums and pleasing contrasting colors in gardens. It is holding up well in drought conditions in full sun in an area that rarely, if ever, receives watering.

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Potentilla

This potentilla, located between hot pavement and a hot foundation, takes heavy sun with grace. Not dead-headed, the plant has still sent out new yellow flowers that brighten up the area. Potentilla comes in multiple colors and handles dry conditions with ease. It leafs out late (into May), but flowers begin in June and periodically throughout the summer. It can be appreciated through to late summer.

Sedum

Sedums vary widely from groundcovers to taller, flowering plants. This sedum is in the process of offering pink flowers for interest in the garden. Sedums require very little water and attract pollinators.

As these examples show, plant selection is highly important when designing a landscape. Using the right plant in the right place can go a long way toward reducing the need for inputs into the garden. There are many benefits to xeriscaping, and now is a great opportunity to get creative, get our hands in the soil, and make a difference.

Amber Ahronian works for Ahronian Landscaping & Design Inc. She received a degree in environmental studies from Dartmouth College in 2017 and has worked in environmental science/consulting for the past five years. Amber developed an interest in xeriscaping and has given talks on the topic within Massachusetts.

Mark Ahronian has been president of Ahronian Landscaping & Design Inc. for 36 years and an MCH since 1983. He served as MNLA’s president in 1998 and 1993. A graduate of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and the Norfolk County Agricultural School, Mark teaches the fundamentals of landscape design for adults. Mark has also served on multiple MNLA boards and committees.