I wish our whole yard, back and front, was xeriscaped. It’s so dry here in Northern Colorado this spring that it will take way more water to green things up than we should be using. Hopefully we’ll get a little more rain in the next couple of months.
The birds are suffering. Our robins are having trouble getting to the worms that sustain them. If I water one of the trees or a patch of flower garden, the birds will flock to that wet spot and cock their heads, listening for the sound of movement underground. Even the mourning dove was cruising the ground under the finch feeder this week, looking for stray bits of thistle seed.
Xeriscaping wouldn’t solve the birds’ problems but at least the yard would look good without wasting water.
I’m learning many new words during this A-Z ! It has been great.
Doris
This would be really cool, as would a yard full of various rocks and stones that don’t need any watering at all.
Hi Patricia .. the weather is very strange .. we have a diagonal line across England .. I’m in the very dry bit … except as soon as they announced the hose-pipe ban – the rain started falling and hasn’t really stopped since!! We are desperate for it – so I don’t complain .. just hope it helps a little – they’re saying the root crops (potatoes, carrots, etc ) are suffering still .. it needs to sink in.
Cheers Hilary
I am with you one this one, Patricia. Although this winter, Cyprus had the worst (best), rainfall for 100 years. Our garden sucked it up and plants are looking good for the Spring. So are the weeds!
The dry spell is around the corner, so I am taking time to enjoy the greenery around me in the vineyards too.
This is the first time I’ve read about the term. I don’t blame you. I don’t like dry weather and I’m a bird lover myself.
i hope you get rain soon—i know, the tornadoes have been so horrible–xcellent x word 🙂
I guess I’ll just count my blessings we’re not in a tornado alley. Every time I see what other folks are going through, as in southeastern Colorado last night, I decide I have nothing to complain about. But a xeriscaped yard would still be nice….
I’ve never heard of that word before! We get dry spells, but not as serious as other places.
A great word for today. We’re dreading the summer water season too. We tried to be responsible with our yard and balance our desire for a little grass for kiddo and dogs. I’m hoping for restrictions and then I don’t have to worry about it.
I’d love a low maintenance yard too. We’re due to get rain for almost every day this coming week. Too bad it’s coming from the west to the east or I’d send it your way!
Margot, we’ve had our share of wildfires in Colorado already this spring, and the worst of the season hasn’t even started yet. We did finally have a little rain last night, but the ground only looks damp, not soaked. I hope we get more rain today.
Lizy expat, I want a couple of raised beds too, and I want them closer to the house than the original (now weed-infested) garden lived. That’s a great idea to save the cold water we waste while warming it up.
Alex, you always make me laugh. If I had the Astro Turf, I could just buy bird seed.
Won’t help the birds any, but I want Astro Turf. No watering , no mowing.
The plants and wildlife here are used to dry conditions, of course, but the sparrows that are nesting now love the extra insects from our terrace. Before we shower we run the cold water into a bucket and use that for the garden, but we do only have two raised beds that cover a square metre in total!
Pat – I live in a very dry area, too, and wildfires are always a threat. So a lot of the businesses and apartment communities use xeriscaping. The essential questions about how to manage a very finite amount of water are difficult ones…