“March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil.” Sara Coleridge. “When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb.” Unknown. “Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of his instruments, not the composer.” Geoffrey Charlesworth. “Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.” Lewis Grizzard. “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” Pablo Neruda.

Springtime is only weeks away which means that the temps will start trending upward. Plants need water all year long, but they need the larger amounts in warmer weather. It is critical to learn about the water needs of plants.

Water is a priceless resource and the supply lessens day by day. In order to preserve water for our future generations and practice good water stewardship, we must sustain and conserve. The earth’s supply of water is finite! What we have now is the most that there will ever be, but our global population and developments continue to grow placing much concern on available water resources, now and in the future. Be good stewards of the water!

For many generations, the distribution of our water resources dictated where people would live, manufacturing would happen, and pleasurable recreation would occur. Because of our reckless use of this precious resource, we are now faced with issues on conservation, sustainability and restrictions like no other generation before us.

As long as we have homes, parks and facilities, we will landscape and grass them. Let us plan ahead and proceed in a manner conducive to more effective conservation and sustainability efforts. Any effort to reduce the demand for this precious resource must be labeled as beneficial and realistic. One such strategy is called xeriscaping or water-wise landscaping which can be very effective and help to conserve our water situations.

For many years we have applied more and more horticultural and agronomic concepts to our landscapes and allowed the ecological aspects to take a back seat. This resulted in the use of many exotic plants that required high maintenance and much water. Now, it is certainly of the essence that we pay more attention to native plants and sustainability practices. 

Our landscapes receive water from two primary sources, naturally from rainfall and supplementary from irrigation. Understanding that water is a landscape’s lifeblood, it is important to ensure water stays where it belongs thus minimizing runoff and off-target applications. There are many water-smart practices to assist with proper water stewardship.

Xeriscaping, with emphasis on the use of native and sustainable plants, offers our country the opportunity to restore the regional distinctiveness throughout that has been de-emphasized in modern society. By combining plants with similar watering needs, matching them with local climates, and integrating them with construction materials and native design themes, landscape designers will have the opportunity to begin a new era in restoration of our diverse national and local landscapes.

The National Xeriscape Council developed principles that have come to serve as a guide in the development and maintenance of landscapes which will assist everyone in using water wisely (conserving) and not wastefully (reckless abandonment). Such principles include proper planning and design, developing watering zones called hydro-zones from areas of low water usage to higher usage areas, conducting proper soil analysis to determine what is needed to promote deep rooting and improved plant health.

Also, selecting appropriate plants through suitability and adaptability to the site, defining practical turf areas limited in size to minimize energy usage and improve curb appeal, concentrating on effective irrigation systems that provide uniformity (coverage) and efficiency (minimal waste and loss), and selecting mulches that complement the health of the plant and curb appeal.

And, choosing the appropriate maintenance practices that support water conservation. Such practices include blowing or sweeping sidewalks rather than hosing them which will save water, using anti-transpirants on plants help conserve moisture, regular mowing will limit the height of the turf and increase density which will conserve moisture, keeping your plants pest-free and healthy, and selecting pest-tolerant plants (insect and disease tolerance) which will support healthier plants.

To reduce runoff from heavy rains, develop rain gardens (primarily native plants) to help absorb the water, use cisterns to harvest rains from roofs to supplement irrigation systems, and use mulch in bed areas to conserve moisture and help the absorption of rain water. Also, lawn aeration helps to increase infiltration, porous paving systems in parking lots, drives and walkways help with infiltration and minimizing runoff, and green roof gardens absorb rainwater and reduce runoff. And add drip irrigation systems to conserve moisture, replace irrigation clocks with smart controllers to efficiently reduce water use, and audit your landscape and irrigation system biennially to identify zones that need less water as plants mature.

As you plan your landscapes this season, always keep water management and xeriscaping principles in mind. You will enjoy the benefits of your labor throughout the seasons and years to come through supportive curb appeal, managed water usage, improved conservation, good stewardship, and effective sustainability.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:35-37. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

Eddie Seagle is a Sustainability Verifier, Golf Environment Organization (Scotland), Agronomist and Horticulturalist, CSI: Seagle (Consulting Services International) LLC, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Alumnus (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College), Distinguished Professor for Teaching and Learning (University System of Georgia) and Short Term Missionary (Heritage Church, Moultrie). Direct inquiries to csi_seagle@yahoo.com.