According to the Family of Southern California Water Agencies, the average home owner in Southern California uses twice the amount of water in our gardens than necessary.
To cut down on water usage without sacrificing your plantings here are a few tips:
Water before 8 am. This will reduce evaporation.
- Avoid runoff and water waste on slopes, heavy clay areas, and silty soils - turn on the water and time how long it takes before you see runoff or puddling. Then, adjust your watering timer or manual watering accordingly. You may want to water for short periods more than once each day to allow for water to adequately water the plantings.
Adding a layer of mulch to your plantings will help to reduce evaporation and hold the water in the soil longer.
Judging how long to water can be tricky. Metropolitan Water District has a handy watering calculator that will assist you in determining what is best for your non-native plants and the environment.
Our wonderful South Orange County lifestyle makes use of our outdoor rooms for entertaining throughout most of the year. Isn't is good to know that we can enjoy our gardens without overtaxing our resources by following some simple steps to conserve water?
The photo above was taken this spring in one of the many lovely gardens at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano. The plantings today are indicative of many of the original plantings that were watered both by hand and with an ingenious irrigation system. A trip to the Old Mission is a great way to see the great variety of plants that are native to the area that are drought resistant and thrive in our South Orange County gardens.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marlene Bridges, REALTOR® 800 777-1775
South Orange County Real Estate Website
Orange County Seniors Lifestyles Blog
SRES - Seniors Real Estate Specialist®
CRS-Certified Residential Specialist®
President - Laguna Hills/Laguna Woods Chamber of Commerce
Marlene is a highly experienced South Orange County CA REALTOR® specializing in residential Real Estate and the sale of Homes and Condos in South Orange County, California and Saddleback Valley cities of: Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Comments(3)