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Eco-Landscaping: Saving Money and Water on Your Lawn and Garden

We all love to see a lush, green yard and garden area, but it takes time and a lot of money spent on water to keep everything in top shape, unless you indulge in a bit of eco-landscaping.

When there is more urgency to than ever before to try and conserve energy as well as water, it does not seem appropriate to simply turn on the sprinkler and not worry about the cost or the environment.

One option is to invest in a professional irrigation system, and you can see Pro Irrigation for more information on that. You can also take a look at some initiatives yourself in order to get the lawn you want without wasting excessive amounts of water.

Choosing the right type of grass

right type of grass

Different types of grass are needed depending on where you live and what type of climate and level of sunlight your law is likely to receive.

Another consideration when choosing the right type of grass is to ask yourself how much traffic the lawn is likely to have to endure. If you have a family and there are going to be plenty of fun days spent playing outside, that will require a more durable and hardwearing grass than if you want something that is more ornamental.

Kikuyu is a popular choice amongst warm season grasses whereas buffalo grass for example, are normally able to handle less sunlight and will often outperform even the strongest kikuyu in an area that is about a third sun-filtered environment.

Regular watering

Married couple watering the lawn

Your lawn needs a regular supply of water to ensure that it gets the right amount of moisture as well as serving to cool down the soil temperature and wash any fertilizers you are using into the soil.

A cool season lawn will need more frequent but shallower watering to prosper, which is due the to the fact that their root systems tend to have less depth as a warm season lawn.

If you are trying to water as efficiently as possible, a good way to do this would be to water your lawn early in the morning, as this is normally the coolest time of the day and there will be less evaporation.

Another benefit of early morning watering as well as making use of natural moisture, is that it reduces the risk of your lawn contracting a disease, provided it dries before nightfall.

Cutting down on the maintenance

Man cutting the grass with lawn mower

Lawns are undeniably attractive and there is only so much hard landscaping that your yard can take, but if you are looking at ways of cutting down on the mowing and other maintenance tasks, there are some alternatives to consider.

If you really want a carpet of color that requires less maintenance than turf grasses, you might want to look at options such as clover, moss and sedges.

All of these provide excellent ground cover and are able to thrive without the need to use fertilizers and also need less watering. You can also keep the mower packed away for most of the season, as options likes sedges rarely require mowing.

If you want an ornamental lawn then these ground-blanketing plants do offer an attractive and viable alternative to a traditional lawn, but if your garden is used as a playground, you will be better off sticking to turf.

Irrigating your lawn

Grass sprinkler

Having chosen your type of lawn and got it looking good, you will obviously want to try and keep it that way.

The way to achieve this aim is to install a timed drip-irrigation system.

It is tempting to consider relying on a sprinkler system to water your garden and think that will be sufficient, but there are some compelling reasons to suggest that drip-irrigation is a much more preferable option.

The tiny water emitters in a drip-irrigation system are able to deliver water directly to your plants in the most precise and water-efficient way possible. It may be possible to find a modern sprinkler system which is as much as 85% efficient, but you will find that a drip-irrigation system is able to offer an efficiency rate that is normally at least 90% or more.

The reason you want a watering system which offers the highest level of efficiency is twofold. It delivers financial savings for you and is better for the environment in comparison to conventional watering methods.

Practice eco-landscaping and you will be able to save money and water, as well as enjoying a lush lawn.

Article Submitted By Community Writer

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