Question
QUESTION: We have been experiencing severe drought seasons the last 2 years I've lived in North Carolina. I purchsed a home last year and gave up on trying to do any lawn or garden care due to strict water conditions. I thought I'd get an early jump on things in the spring and planted a few small bushes and perennials, not to mention grass seeds, all the have everything burn up and now we are back on water restictions..how can I salvage my lawn and garden and have a half way decent looking yard this summer?

ANSWER: Hey, Nikke.

Most grass needs daily watering to continue to look good, so it's not going to make it through a drought. I have heard that there are some drought-tolerant grasses, but I am unfamiliar with them.

If you're on water restriction (and we might be shortly, too), there's not going to be too much you can do about planting your typical grass and perennials. Also remember that most plants like you are planting need really good watering right after planting and until they become established. Water restrictions won't allow you to do that.

There are a couple of things that you could do. One is to go with xeriscape, or low-water use plants. There are good selections of trees, bushes, plants, and ground covers that can subsist on little water.

The other is to switch to container gardening for a while. Clean up your lawn and then put some groups of pots in various locations, perhaps a bench or two, some landscape architecture, and the like, and you could have a very lovely yard. Container gardening allows you to direct your water to specific pots so that none of it is wasted. Even with the pots, though, I'd recommend going with xeriscape plants.

I specialize in xeriscape plants because I've always hated water bills (and telephone, gas, and electric bills). Check out this file:

http://www.abouthomes.info/reports/Vegetation.pdf

All the plants in there require little or no water other than the 11 inches annually that we get here, and many of the plants are strikingly beautiful (such as the aeoniums) and have beautiful flowers.

Hope that helps.

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QUESTION: I wasn't able to open that link...any other way to get that info? I'm really curious to see the various vegitation available! thanks again!

Answer
Hey, Nikke.

The link works because I tried it before I sent it to you. If you're typing it, you might just have typed it wrong (for example, the V of Vegetation does have to be capitalized. Try copying it and pasting it in your browser instead. If you still have trouble, send an email to me at [email protected] and I'll send it to you as an attachment.