Water-wise Garden Tour

Texas Discovery Gardens

Practical Turf Areas

This is the most misunderstood of the water-wise principles. Turf should be used for play and entertainment areas, and to slow down, absorb, and clean runoff. Turf is a design element, it requires more water and maintenance than any other part of the landscape. Mowing, fertilizing, and watering a lawn can take many hours of work each week.

Consider where and how large a turf area is desired, how it will be used, and during which seasons it will be used. Limit turf to useful spaces and determine which grasses will best serve your needs. St. Augustine grass and Bermuda grass are most often used for lawns in Texas. Zoysia grass, buffalo grass and centipede grass are used less often but offer much promise for landscape water conservation.

 Reduce Grass Areas

Reduce grass areas whenever possible and replace with appropriate plant material or hardscape.

1. Select grass according to its intended use, planting location and maintenance requirements.

2. Reduce the size of water-sensitive lawns by including enlarged beds and hardscapes (decks, patios and walkways)

3. Consider the ease or difficulty in watering the proposed grass. Eliminate areas that are long and narrow or small and odd-shaped which are difficult to water efficiently.

4. Where practical, plant more drought tolerant grasses.

 

Water-wise Urban Landscapes