Water Conservation

Landscape architect Brennan Cox, principal of San Francisco–based Groundworks, explores the best approaches to drought-tolerant landscaping practices that can be implemented anywhere in the world.

Conserve water in the garden with these beautiful plants and ideas.

Do you ever feel like a chump paying for water when it falls from the sky for FREE? Installing means to capture and reuse rain water is an easy way to cut the costs and impact of watering your lawn and gardens. Rain Barrel To capture the runoff place a rain barrel underneath your down spout. If you have a large roof or get a lot of rain consider installing more than 1 rain barrel. You can install them under each downspout or pick 1 downspout and hook multiple rain barrels up in a chain so…

With its boring lawn, scratchy hedge, and dying camphor tree, garden designer Marilyn Waterman’s yard in Menlo Park, California, “had no soul,” she says. So she created her version of a homestead, mixing edible and ornamental plants. Photo by Rachel Weill “When I took out the lawn, the neighbors said, ‘We could never do that. …

Central Texas Gardener

Houses in the California Bay Area are sporting dramatic displays of low-water plants that entice native bees and keep homeowners from pouring money down the drain.

In response to the drought, a huge amount of grass is being torn out and replanted with drought-tolerant landscaping, changing the state’s aesthetic.

Quench your garden’s thirst without driving up your water bill with these ideas for small-scale irrigation.

Seasonal fog and a thirsty lawn kept this beach cottage in Santa Monica feeling damp and dreary. Garden designer Susanne Jett of Jettscapes Landscape brought in the cheer by laying down a crisp layer of decomposed granite and planting a showy—yet low-water—border that birds love as much as the homeowner does. Photo by Lisa Romerein …

It turns out that the most efficient watering system originates in ancient China.Our June issue features an olla (pronounced oy-yah)—an unglazed clay pot—up to its neck into a planting bed. I checked in with Lori Haynes of Dripping Springs Ollas to learn more.Q: Where does the concept of an olla come from?A: The Fan Sheng-chih Shu …

Don’t mess around with water waste this summer. Start putting these water-saving techniques into action now.

Photo courtesy of www.alexwyndham.com It isn’t everyday I stumble upon a chicken coop that’s equally sleek, creative, and water wise. Eager to learn about this drought-friendly design, I chatted with Santa Barbara architect, Alex Wyndham, to get the full scoop on Toro Canyon’s Chicken House.Q: How long have you been making chicken coops?A: I made the Chicken House about a year …

Drought-tolerant doesn't have to mean dull.