High heat, little rain and strict water restrictions can make gardening difficult in Texas. South Texas gets hit especially hard with a combination of high humidity and high temperatures. Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping and gardening that aims to reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from other irrigation means. Xeriscaping is a great way to ensure that plants can thrive and grow even in areas that receive too little water for some more traditional landscaping methods.

Some favorite Xeriscaping plants include Pride of Barbados, Blue Plumbago, Juniper, Live Oak and Cedar Elm, as well as Arizona Cypress and the prickly pear cactus. All of these plants are also Central Texas native plants and thrive and survive in Central and South Texas’ low-water conditions and many can be watered by hand instead of relying on heavy-handed irrigation systems. Xeriscaping also includes other design elements like rock and brick placement that won’t take up any additional irrigation and uses mulch and other moisture retaining elements to retain water. In addition to being an easy way to keep a beautiful garden despite water restrictions, Xeriscaping’s emphasis on using native plants and low-water plants is a green and energy efficient solution to reduce the amount of water that is wasted every day on non-native plants that need more and more resources to thrive.

Here is a full list of Xeriscaping plants from Milberger’s Nursery.

Xeriscaping is a fantastic way to plan and build a fantastic garden and comply with water-restrictions. If you have any questions about Xeriscaping, call Milberger’s – one of our garden experts will be happy to assist you in planning the perfect Xeriscaping garden.

Sources:

http://www.gardenstylesanantonio.com/find-plant/

http://www.saws.org/conservation/outdoor/sevensteps.cfm