Austin landscaping
Austin landscaping
When we think about an Austin landscape what comes to mind? Perhaps a neatly trimmed distinct bushes around the house, some annual color over the pathway, graceful live oaks or pecans shading the yard, even some planter beds curving around the house full of the usual evergreen shrubs. However the one thing that we always expect to see is a large and lush green lawn. But what goes on when it stops raining?
In Central Texas we are used to droughts. It is part of life in this area. In fact, droughts have been recorded entirely back to when the Spaniards first came with the area. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca found a population of farmers near present-day Presidio where it hadn't rained in two years. In 1756 things got so bad the San Gabriel River dried out forcing missionaries and settlers to depart. The settlers under Stephen F. Austin suffered in 1822 when drought destroyed their crops. Among the worst was in 1884-6 causing farms to fail plus a mass exodus back east. For every decade there has been at least one period of drought in Texas. The worst were only available in late spring 1949 in the Concho River Valley, had spread west by fall of the year and to the whole state by the summer of 1951. By year's end in 1952 the water shortage was critical with Lake Dallas, for instance, holding only 11 percent of its capacity. In the Trans-Pecos corridor only 8 inches of rain fell throughout 1953 and slowly worsened through 1954-56 with rains finally arriving the spring of that year. Exactly the same thing occurred in the early 1980's the place where a blistering heat wave settled within the area enforcing water rationing. Some towns even ran from water.
So perhaps even this historic drought where Central Texas finds itself is no surprise. But how will this effect Austin landscapes? Once we saw in the summer of 2011 that lush green lawn can soon turn brown and die. In some instances the yard was as a result of bare dirt. Grasses like St. Augustine with its high water requirements and shallow root system suffered in the extreme and with continuing water restrictions in position, replacing that lawn in near impossible.
But there's a solution: Xeriscaping. The concept is not new but its promotion in Central Texas is timely. The major problem is trying to change people's attitude toward their landscape. Folks the same as to see a nice green lawn, all things considered. But when that becomes untenable the options and perceptions have to shift, and even they have. People are realizing that it is possible to replace most of the lawn area with sculpted flower beds filled with shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers that can take the dreadful Texas summer heat yet still provide a plethora of blooms through the majority of the year. They are also realizing that a targeted drip-system irrigation is far more efficient than traditional spray irrigation - a few of which were only designed to be 'passive', relying on rainfall to make up the difference.
So, since the Austin landscape changes use people's attitudes, and as we continue into uncertain times with rising populations and increased water demands, an even more considered approach to landscapes is inevitable.
Austin landscaping
When we think about an Austin landscape what comes to mind? Perhaps a neatly trimmed distinct bushes around the house, some annual color over the pathway, graceful live oaks or pecans shading the yard, even some planter beds curving around the house full of the usual evergreen shrubs. However the one thing that we always expect to see is a large and lush green lawn. But what goes on when it stops raining?
In Central Texas we are used to droughts. It is part of life in this area. In fact, droughts have been recorded entirely back to when the Spaniards first came with the area. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca found a population of farmers near present-day Presidio where it hadn't rained in two years. In 1756 things got so bad the San Gabriel River dried out forcing missionaries and settlers to depart. The settlers under Stephen F. Austin suffered in 1822 when drought destroyed their crops. Among the worst was in 1884-6 causing farms to fail plus a mass exodus back east. For every decade there has been at least one period of drought in Texas. The worst were only available in late spring 1949 in the Concho River Valley, had spread west by fall of the year and to the whole state by the summer of 1951. By year's end in 1952 the water shortage was critical with Lake Dallas, for instance, holding only 11 percent of its capacity. In the Trans-Pecos corridor only 8 inches of rain fell throughout 1953 and slowly worsened through 1954-56 with rains finally arriving the spring of that year. Exactly the same thing occurred in the early 1980's the place where a blistering heat wave settled within the area enforcing water rationing. Some towns even ran from water.
So perhaps even this historic drought where Central Texas finds itself is no surprise. But how will this effect Austin landscapes? Once we saw in the summer of 2011 that lush green lawn can soon turn brown and die. In some instances the yard was as a result of bare dirt. Grasses like St. Augustine with its high water requirements and shallow root system suffered in the extreme and with continuing water restrictions in position, replacing that lawn in near impossible.
But there's a solution: Xeriscaping. The concept is not new but its promotion in Central Texas is timely. The major problem is trying to change people's attitude toward their landscape. Folks the same as to see a nice green lawn, all things considered. But when that becomes untenable the options and perceptions have to shift, and even they have. People are realizing that it is possible to replace most of the lawn area with sculpted flower beds filled with shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers that can take the dreadful Texas summer heat yet still provide a plethora of blooms through the majority of the year. They are also realizing that a targeted drip-system irrigation is far more efficient than traditional spray irrigation - a few of which were only designed to be 'passive', relying on rainfall to make up the difference.
So, since the Austin landscape changes use people's attitudes, and as we continue into uncertain times with rising populations and increased water demands, an even more considered approach to landscapes is inevitable.
Austin landscaping