I cringe when I hear "I want to zero-scape my yard." The unknowing speaker will smile thinking he/she is being environmentally friendly, but in my mind, I see dying trees surrounded by heat islands of rocks. When renovating an existing landscape to a xeriscape, too many people tear out their lawn and other plants and replace them with rocks and pavers. They think using water efficiently means no plants.
Ripping all the lawn and plants out of a yard and replacing them with seas of gravel simply increases the heat and reflected light on the property, increasing cooling costs in summer. It also means rain runs off the property instead of soaking in, so there is little groundwater recharge. Even worse, trees suffer when a lawn is torn out and they no longer have their water source. Tree roots grow where water is, and, of course, when a lawn was there, the water was on the lawn. Suddenly a homeowner stops irrigating what used to be the lawn. People think they solve this water problem for the tree by adding an emitter or two next to the tree trunk. However, for a tree that originally was growing in a lawn, that is not where the absorbing roots are. They are out in the old lawn area.
The "xeri" in xeriscape means "dry." It doesn't mean barren, dusty or without plants. It's not more brown than green. It's not wild or ugly. It doesn't mean "zero." However, many people mistakenly call it "zero-scaping."
When designing a xeriscape, should you eliminate all plants? No. Xeriscaping is the use of appropriate plants to create beautiful landscapes that hold and conserve water. Appropriate plants are those that can survive with little or no irrigation water. Are rocks prohibited? No, rocks and other forms of hardscape such as boulders, pavers, patios, walls, fences and walkways add interest, aesthetic appeal, texture and function to a well-designed xeriscape. It's not anti-grass either, but grass should be added in selected amounts that conserve water.
Don't have a landscape ill-adapted to northern Nevada's arid reality. Design or redesign a lovely lush outdoor environment that doesn't consume thousands of gallons of expensively purified drinking water. Xeriscaping is a complete way of looking at a landscape from planning to maintenance. Less thirsty plantings not only use less water, but they require less maintenance and are generally less labor intensive. For more information read "Xeriscape Colorado - The Complete Guide" by Connie Ellefson and David Winger.
JoAnne Skelly is the Carson City/Storey County Extension educator for University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and may be reached at skellyj@unce.unr.edu or 887-2252.
