interesting this Xeriscaping, the risk is that some species like hydrangea are out of garden ,i'm not agree with the man that in Italy want one "engish lawn"but my garden (that not have the english lawn)is poor only with Rosmarinus or Quercus Ilex....
Yes, it's all a matter of plant selection. One compromise is to have zones, with a small oasis of frequently watered garden near the house surrounded by bands of garden receiving less water as you move out to the periphery, so that the far edge is never watered.
Don't forget using pots to maintain the more exotic plants. This makes watering economical. We are fortunate here in Australia that our natural landscape plants are suitable for low water gardening. There are now so many hybrids of plants with fabulous flowers. Have even seen a native cottage garden. They are using native grasses to establish lawns the possibilities are endless..... Put "drought gardening" into Google and see a new way of doing things and still have a great productive garden http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1418320.htm http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/20...ning_styles_and_features/drought_hardy_garden http://www.uvm.edu/pss/ppp/pubs/oh72drought.htm http://www.southeastwater.com.au/ap...tersecurity/Pages/Droughtresistantgarden.aspx We are finely drowning in great downpours. Been our coldest wettest winter in 10 years. I forgot how cold (cool) it can get. Liz
I live on the westcoast of BC ... and we get lots of rain. Except that we must conserve our water during our summers when everyone turns on the sprinklers to water their lawn (!) I grow several species of cold hardy cacti in my garden. As long as the drainage is good, the cacti will thrive. I also collect rainwater to water much of my plants, and store the excess rainwater in rain barrels and also into my holding pond. Overflow water during heavy rainfalls go from my pond into my bog garden, and swales landscaped into my yard waters my conifers. So xerophyte gardening can occur in a coastal climate like ours... and the two "extremes" can occur next to each other with some managing of water resources.
Well said flytrap. I too have a number of cacti and succulents that do well here. A nice green lawn is nearly impossible here and I refuse to even attempt it. I'd rather work with what comes my way. This past summer was the dampest in many years and my "lawn", although much greener than normal, was still fairly brown. Cheers, LPN.
I siphon the greywater from our bathtub into the front yard, and use mostly rainwater in the back; I hardly ever run the hose. The challenge is the distribution of the water, as it's very low pressure in both cases.
Just wondering how you do this? I usually end up lugging my water from the tub out in a watering can. Very labour intensive.
I started out doing that; it makes a mess too as drips are inevitable. The siphoning method can work depending on the elevation between bathtub and bathroom window, and whether you can devise a method of starting the siphoning action and holding the hose in place while the water runs (as you might want to be outside moving the hose around). I have a hose of which one end hangs from a nail outside the bathroom window by a loop of string attached to the hose, the other end is in the yard. To start the siphon, I haul in about 4 feet of hose. I have an old-fashioned faucet that can quasi-seal to the hose opening, and I run the tap into that until suctioning starts, then I immerse it in the tub and hold it in place using elastic bands slung around the faucets. Not elegant, but functional. I used to start the siphon by pouring water via a funnel into the hose, but that's messy. Hope this is relevant enough to your thread Alex... I'll maybe get some photos of my set-up and start a new thread.
I think there are also some types of hand pumps available (at least here) for doing this. Saving bathwater etc has been the inthing for several years here. They keep coming up with all sorts of ideas. There are some electric units that seem to collect all the different sources of grey water and hold them in a grey water tank so they can be used with in the next 24 hours. Some one even suggested a water feature pump to get it going or of course fill the hose from the tap till it is flowing outside then duck it in the bath. You could also send this to a holding tank till you are ready to use later in the day. Holding tank will need to be lower than the bath. By the way be careful what you use to wash (washing detergents) as this may effect yr. plants. We now hava available a whole range of great products that are very biodegradeable. http://www.savingwatertips.com.au/20-water-saving-tips/ http://www.plasticplumbing.com.au/PDF/WasteWaterDiverterSystem.pdf http://www.vic.engineersaustralia.org.au/groups/waterrecycling.pdf Liz
Here's a North American item that can help to start the siphon: http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=10361&cat=2,2070
why you use a siphon ?and this big "bottle"? i use one big "bottle" with faucet is inox and ligth stop ;) alex
