water friendly gardening
Many Tampa Bay area residents have already experienced the benefits of water-wise gardening. Check out our Water-Wise Awards to see some of their attractive and water-efficient yards. Restricting the use of turf to play and pet areas and filling in with drought-tolerant plants and bushes are the first steps to a water-thrifty yard. Some other water-friendly tips are:
- Select drought-tolerant plants and group plants with similar light
and water needs together.
- Keep three inches of mulch on plant beds to reduce water.
- Design or retrofit your irrigation system to accommodate less
thirsty plants.
- Mow lawns high, leaving three to four inches on the blade. This way
the roots grow deeper and are less affected by drought.
- Direct gutters and downspouts to drain into the lawn and plant beds
to prevent rain water from running into the street where it can carry
pollutants into the storm water system.
- Capture rain water in a barrel or cistern. For information on these, see “Recycling Rain”.
