GREEN Austin Texas

With record setting high heat, drought, and lake levels getting lower and lower it seems that xeriscaping would be all the rage in Central & South Texas but it’s not. Who started the fad of growing these expansive water hogging St. Augustine (“carpet” grass) lawns anyway? I have yet to know the full history behind this ecological disaster.  However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a way out, and it is called xeriscaping.  Not “zero scaping ” as it often is miscalled, implying that xeriscapes can’t be beautiful when they can be colorful & artistic when well designed.  Xeriscaping is landscaping that is designed for drought and water conservation to protect our water supply and environment.  A xeriscaped yard is not only beautiful, but uses less water, requires less maintenance and the native plants and flowers attract & provide habitat for native species of birds, butterflies & other living things. 
 
Getting Started

One of the first steps in a xeriscape landscape plan is to reduce or eliminate the lawngrass.  Another alternative is to replace the existing lawn with a grass that needs little water to live like zoysia or buffalograss.  I look at many homes and landscapes in the Austin, Texas Metro area.  Right now so many lawns are that sickly, depressing shade of yellowish brown.  If left on their own, lawn grasses may die and weeds fill in.  The next year I see people trying to re-sod with St. Augustine only to start this cycle again.

Learning More about What and How To Plant

Some great ways to learn about xeriscape plants are through the Native Plant Society of Texas, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, and local nurseries.  The “big box” store nurseries still carry invasives, and plants that “look pretty” but are not good for conserving water.  Some cities such as Leander, Texas and Austin, Texas have recommended plant lists.  Leander’s is on the City of Leander website- search for Preferred plant list.doc and the City of Austin has a Grow Green section on their website.  Go to the Plant Guide section.  There is also a Grow Green booklet free of charge at the City or many Austin area nurseries.  The City of Austin also has a Xeriscape Advisory Board to help homeowners design these water-wise gardens.  Texas A & M Horticulture has some great information.  The Williamson County Extension Office at 3151 Inner Loop Rd. in Georgetown, Texas has local demonstration plots at to see xeriscape plants & grasses growing.  There is a map in the Extension Office & plants & trees are labeled & staked.  The Wilco Master Gardeners maintain the xeriscaping gardens.

Professional Advice and Installation

You may choose to hire a professional landscape architect or designer to design a custom plan for your yard.  The Austin Area has many experienced and knowledgeable professionals with many completed projects on the ground (or should I say “in” the ground!  LOL).  Many will design the landscape plan, giving you a drawing of where to plant what and a list of desired specimens but allow you to carry out your plan thus saving you money.  Or, you may choose to have the entire design implemented completely by professionals while you relax in the air conditioning watching through the window!  You avoid heatstroke that way! 

Enjoying Your Xeriscape

Now that your own yard is a Texas Hill Country heat lovin’, water shruggin’ paradise, you may want to take a further step and get your home Certified as a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Wildscapes or Best of Texas Backyard Habitat programs.  Get a cool glass of fresh- squeezed lemonade, hibiscus tea or other cold beverage and go hand with your butterflies and birds, relishing in the thought that you are having a share in conserving water and our wonderful state.

Lawn Grass in Leander & Cedar Park Texas

For those whose lawns look weathered and barren now. remember, we are in the dead of winter- the grass has been dormant but will come to life soon. We had a horribly harsh summer with the drought a dry first part of the winter and we are just now getting blessed with a little rain. A good dose of Dillo Dirt or other organic fertilizer and these continued showers will do our lawns good. The Grass Patch on Ronald Reagan Blvd. (aka Parmer) in Leander sells and installs lawn grass. Farmer’s Nursery on Leander Drive in Leander does as well- not positive they install, but they sell as well as have a lawn grass demonstration area located to the left of their gate as you drive in. In the Farmer’s demo plot you can see real lawn grass growing and determine which look is right for you.  If you go to Farmer’s please tell ‘em “Sandy” sent you.  I bought so much builder’s sand and other supplies during my backyards de-grassing that my name was changed by them.  Another good resource is the Williamson County Ag. Extension office. Yet another resource is the Native Plant Society of Texas. Georgetown has a very active group. Unfortunately for ME- they meet on Thursday nights when I have P & Z (Leander Planning & Zoning Commission meetings). The City of Leander has one of the best water conservation ordinances in the state as well as a recommended plant list of natives are hardy adapted plants & grasses. Builders must use Bermuda grass or Zoysia in new home landscape construction and may NOT use the water hogging St. Augustine. Commonly called “carpet” grass, St. Augustine may be good for Houston, parts of Florida or other areas with high annual rainfall amounts but not here in the Texas Hill Country.

I have 3 types of grass in my lawn (what’s left of it). Zoysia, a wide stemmed variety, Bermuda and St. Augustine. Little by little I have been removing large expanses of lawn and replacing it with low maintenance stone or granite, or xeriscaping or edibles. Neither my son nor my husband like to mow, edge, weed eat, water or otherwise care for a lawn.

I would encourage anyone contemplating putting in a lawn to think long and hard about it. Many yards are totally lawnless and look great and are functional. I have seen local landscape designers create masterpieces of hardy & beautiful plants and walkways of granite, tile or stone that aesthetically rival the finest & fanciest lawns. Maybe you could just pare down the amount of lawn and add wide pathways around the perimeter with crushed granite or stone. I put in a large native stone patio using 10 tons of native patio stone at $80. a ton 2 years ago. Set in sand and filled in with decomposed granite, it created a pervious, all weather expansive area in my back yard. I also put in a pond with a bog or biological filter to keep it clean without the use of any chemicals.

My Backyard in Leander, Texas

My yard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat. I garden sustainably, by organic methods. The City of Austin, Texas has a great Grow Green program. One huge aspect of the program is protecting our water supply. Nitrates and Atrazine are being found in our waterways due to Weed and Feed and other chemical fertilizers being applied to lawns and then being carried down to creeks, streams and lakes when it rains with the stormwater runoff. Deformed frogs have been linked to lawn chemicals such as pesticides. That is why the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. has a Texas Amphibian Watch program to document frogs and toads.

Leopard Frog on Lilly in My Pond

You see, amphibians serve as bio-indicators worldwide of how safe our environment is for us to live in.  If anybody wants to participate in the Frogwatch program, my yard’s pond is available for the study & we do have several species in our pond & yard.  Please also think of your pets and children playing on your lawn.

In my front yard, large strips of grass along the entire front edge and sides have been removed. I replaced it with xeriscaping & edible landscaping including fruit trees, vegetables and herbs. I also added some boulders- they require no maintenance or water! My goal is to have an aesthetically pleasing landscape that adds to the value of my home while eliminating as much water use and maintenance as possible while actually yielding fruit, vegetables and herbs. For more information see EDIBLE ESTATES: ATTACK ON THE FRONT LAWN A Project by Fritz Haeg & The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping: Home Landscaping with Food-Bearing Plants and Resource-Saving Techniques: by Rosalind Creasy (Sierra Club Books). These as well as many other books, pictures & websites prove that our yards can be water conserving, low maintenance, productive AND aesthetically pleasing all at the same time.