Edible Garden Ideas For A Low-Water Landscape
Xeriscaping is a style of landscaping that focuses on growing plants that thrive in the natural water conditions of your area. This means that you use little to no actual irrigation to keep your landscape beautiful and thriving. Many homeowners choose xeriscaping in dry climates or areas with regular droughts so they don't have to worry about any type of water restrictions. If you want to grow a few edibles in your xeriscaped yard, the following guide can help you choose those that need the least water.
Evergreen Herbs
Herbs are an excellent choice for any low-water garden because many varieties thrive on very little water. Those that grow best in somewhat dry soils and rarely if ever need irrigation include
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Sage
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Rosemary
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Thyme
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Lavender
The above all have evergreen foliage. Lavender and sage, in particular, also produce beautiful flower spikes. With the exception of thyme, which forms a groundcover, the rest are small sub-shrubs that can be used as stand alone plants throughout the landscape or as anchor plants in larger beds.
Annual Herbs
A few annual herbs also can grow well, but these choices depend on your weather. For example, basil grows quickly in frost-free weather, but it does need moist soil. This means it can be productive for a short time if you have relatively mild wet springs.
Cilantro prefers slightly cooler weather, such as spring or fall temperatures, since heat makes it go to seed. This means it is perfect to grow in these seasons if you expect a bit of rain. Check the length of time until maturity or harvest, along with the temperature and water needs, of any annual herbs to see if you can fit them into the garden for a short period of time.
Vegetables
Do you want to try vegetables in an edible xeriscape situation? These will likely require a small amount of irrigation, but timing planting time and choosing the right varieties can cut down on the water needs.
Radishes and leaf lettuces are a great option for cool, damp springs because they can reach maturity and harvest quickly – long before summer drought takes over. If your winters are wet but mild with few freezing days, consider growing some cool season vegetables like broccoli, kale, or spinach.
The alium family of bulb-forming vegetables requires moisture early in its life, but depends on dry, hot weather to hit maturity. For this reason, fall or winter planted onions or garlic work well since they grow in the cooler, moister season and hit harvest just as the temperatures get hot and the rain clouds dry up.
Talk with a xeriscaping professional like http://bourgetbros.com in your area for further help in identifying the best low-water edibles for your climate.
