We all want a beautiful landscape that is both water-wise and lower maintenance, but we don’t necessarily know how to get there. Obviously, it requires careful planning and making conscious choices based on real research and good design principles to make sure it works the way we picture it.
The rule of thirds provides us with some guidelines. The landscape rule of thirds requires dividing our landscapes roughly equally among turf areas, bedding areas, and hardscape.
Dividing the landscape into three roughly equal components fits naturally with the technique of hydro-zoning, This concept requires grouping plant material based on irrigation requirements if there is no rainfall. Generally, we can group plants by how much water we need to provide if there is no rain: low — little or no irrigation; moderate — once a month or so; and high — more than once a week. As always, we need to monitor plants for signs of water stress and respond to each plant’s needs.
Most of us live in inherited landscapes that have more than one-third of the square footage in lawn. The turf grass in our landscape is a very high-water use zone and requires by far the most time and effort in maintenance. If your lawn is not being used by children or pets, reducing its size by replacing it with mulched bedding areas and/or hardscaping will both greatly improve watering efficiency and reduce maintenance. Design wise, the lawn is negative space, a place to rest the eyes. Remember too much rest can create boredom.
Bedding areas are anything but boring, and using native and adapted trees, shrubs, and perennials makes them more water efficient. Also these plantings can reduce maintenance time and effort. Trees and shrubs block the wind and shade the soil, reducing moisture loss to evaporation. Plants in the landscape require much less water than turf to thrive.
Grouping plant material within the beds by water and light requirements improves watering efficiency. Mulching the beds increases those benefits. Adding three-to-four-inches of mulch helps keep moisture in the soil and reduces weeding, Organic mulch can improve the soil and add fertility when it decomposes.
Good free resources for choosing practical and beautiful plants that will work well in your yard are the Earth-Kind plant selector and our Victoria County Agrilife Extension office.
The third design area in the garden is the hardscape. All the non-living components, including the driveway, sidewalks and paths, decks and patios, garden structures and even pools and fountains are in this category. These features are often practical and functional and require no irrigation. Adding or enlarging hardscape can improve the function of the landscape and reduce water requirements.
However, many hardscaping elements that lie flat on the ground, like paths, sidewalks, and driveways, can contribute to the loss of usable water in the landscape by promoting runoff and flooding. This problem can be managed by converting solid surfaces to permeable ones, like pavers, bricks, or gravel whenever possible. Permeable surfaces slow water flow and allow it to trickle down into the soil where it is stored and made available to adjacent plants over time.
Committing to water conservation is a matter of conscience and is quickly becoming a matter of practical necessity. Whether planning a landscape from scratch or evolving it over time, as most of us have to do, keeping the landscaping rule of thirds in mind as a guiding principle will help us make better choices for water conservation and a more balanced and beautiful landscape.
We can conserve water and still have a beautiful, lush, and green landscape.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
Victoria County Master Gardener Association
