Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Hacks: Simple Steps to Get Started

Posted on Jan 01, 1970

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FAQ: What do I need to do to incorporate drought-tolerant landscaping?

Answer: You can take simple steps, such as reducing your lawn and including sustainable landscape design.

In this blog post, you’ll learn more about the following hacks:

What is drought-tolerant landscaping?
Why fall is the perfect season for drought-tolerant landscaping
Improve your lawn with drought-tolerant turfgrass
Adopt xeriscaping

What Is Drought-Tolerant Landscaping?

Drought-tolerant landscaping, also known as water-wise landscaping, means incorporating plants in your landscape that can handle dry conditions. As climate change persists, more regions are experiencing a lack of rain and more hot summer days.

Native plants can be part of a drought-tolerant palette, as well as succulents, cacti, and ornamental grasses.

There are other parts of drought-tolerant landscaping elements that may not be readily apparent:

Using stone as mulch
Creating rain gardens
Planting by watering needs
Reducing the lawn
Adding hardscaping elements.

Why Is Fall the Perfect Season for Drought-Tolerant Landscaping?

Fall is the perfect time to overhaul your lawn and landscapes, turning them into drought-tolerant spaces.

The cooler temperatures and frequent rainfall will allow plants to establish in their new spots. Also, these plants will have stronger root systems, allowing them to survive the next year’s hot, dry summer.

Improve Your Lawn with Drought-Tolerant Turfgrass

If you don’t want to remove your entire lawn, you can renovate it with drought-tolerant turfgrass. Remember to buy turfgrass blends or sod with blended turf that will provide a better lawn.

Also, plant the right grass seed or sod at the right place. For example, tall fescue prefers shaded areas; you’ll obviously want to plant it in the shady part of your property.

Here are the top four cool season turfgrasses:

Tall fescue
Sheep fescue
Wheatgrass
Kentucky bluegrass.

Warm season turfgrass loves heat and tolerates dry conditions better than its cool season cousin. Many warm season grasses are drought-tolerant because they can live on little water and grow the best in the summer.

Here are the top six warm season grasses to use in a drought-tolerant lawn:

Bahia grass
Bermudagrass
Buffalograss
Centipede grass
St. Augustine grass
Zoysia grass.

Fall is the best time to reseed or sod your lawn if you have a cool season lawn. Seed your warm season lawn in the spring.

Why You Should Think Twice Before Eliminating Your Lawn

While many experts say to get rid of your lawn, you need to consider how you use it. For example, if you have children who love to play out in the yard, it makes no sense to rip up your turfgrass.

Lawns provide safe places for kids to play. You don’t want your children playing soccer, tag, or any other game on your xeriscaped property. Rocks, stones, and cacti can lead to injury.

LoveYourLandscape.org, part of the National Association for Landscaping Professionals, says climate change effects would increase if all lawns were gone.

Lawns provide these environmental benefits:

Lawns capture heavy rain that eliminates erosion and stormwater overflow
Lawns trap air pollutants
Lawns produce enough oxygen for people to breathe
Lawns provide green space that’s 60°F cooler than asphalt
Lawns increase home values by 10-15%.

If you want a drought-tolerant lawn, you need to practice water-wise turfgrass care, including

Ensuring you aerate your lawn every two years and dethatch it in the off years.
Incorporating an automatic sprinkler system with a moisture or weather sensor and Bluetooth technology to control your system.
Only use grass blends that are drought-tolerant.
Allow your lawn to go into dormancy when there’s little rain in the forecast.
Practice wise watering, such as watering between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., irrigating your lawn with 1-1 ½” water per week, and infrequent watering practices.
Give up the need for a perfect lawn; plant clover to add nitrogen.
Mulch grass clippings or put them in your composting bin.

Learn more: Your Guide to Planting a Clover Lawn

Adopt Xeriscaping and Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

What is xeriscaping?

It’s a form of landscaping that uses plants, stone, gravel, and hardscapes. Xeriscaping uses little to no water in the landscape; xeriscape plants can live with hardly any water.

Xeriscaping is popular in areas such as the southwestern U.S., where the arid climate produces little rainfall.

You may not want a complete xeriscape redesign, but if you live in areas with average precipitation, you may wish to have a drought-tolerant one that allows you to use bark mulch, native plants, and other features.

Here are 10 xeriscaping and landscaping ideas to try:

Add succulents, ground covers, and ornamental grasses to your landscape.
Include water-permeable products, such as gravel paths and groundcovers.
Incorporate boulders and sculptures that add height, texture, and focal points.
Add double-duty water features like a bird bath or a water garden to capture rainwater.
Create terraces with succulents, ground covers, and native plants.
Use mulch to hold moisture in the soil, prevent weeds, and regulate soil temperatures.
Pack plants together to shade the soil, requiring less watering.
Group plants based on their watering needs.
Use driplines and tree bubblers for your landscapes that deliver water directly to the plants’ root zone.
Create rain gardens where water can be absorbed into the ground during a rain event instead of going into stormwater drains.

Tackle Climate Change with Brinly’s Lawn and Garden Attachments

If you want to take one step forward to tackle climate change, you need Brinly’s Lawn and Garden Attachments.

Create rain gardens, new flowerbeds, and other landscapes with our Ground Engaging Garden Attachments to get you started. Our tow-behind carts will carry gravel, stones, mulch, and more to your work site.

Maintain a drought-tolerant lawn with our lawn attachments, including

Buy your next Brinly lawn and garden attachments online.

Do you have questions about your Brinly Lawn and Garden Attachment? Contact customer service today by filling out our contact form.

Sources:

LoveYourLandscape.org, How Lawns Benefit Our Communities

HGTV.com, 26 Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Ideas.

TheSpruce.com, 10 Best Types of Drought-Tolerant Lawn Grass.

Ibid, What Is Drought-Tolerant Landscaping?

Yardzen.com, Guide to Drought Tolerant Plants.