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Show Landscape tips for spring With the arrival of spring, landscaping land-scaping plans, planting and irrigating ir-rigating aren't far off. People in California and parts of Utah have already begun rationing water in anticipation of another year of drought, making this a good time to begin planning for a landscape ' that can get by on less water. Larry Rupp, USU Extension ornamental or-namental horticulture specialist, suggests some ways of helping your ' yard and yourself through a dry season, including conserving water and replacing some pieces of turf 1 with other plants. "Most people tend to irrigate too frequently," Rupp said. "The first place to begin conserving water is to deeply irrigate only when needed and then irrigate deeply enough to saturate the soil profile. ' ' i Another way to reduce water use is to limit the amount of turf in your landscape. "Turf is a high water use part of i the landscape so if there are parts of 1 your yard where it really isn't necessary to have a lawn, consider replacing it with other plants," he said. "Trees, shrubs and ground covers can be very attractive, use less water and often don't require as much care. Rupp said it takes planning, but for wise water use try an "oasis" philosophy in designing your landscape. land-scape. In the places you spend a lot of time or view frequently, you may still want to plant your favorite bedding plants that are bred for color intensity and longevity and are not usually water efficient. Areas that get used extensively are also the best places for turf. Put the bedding plants and other thirsty plants on their own irrigation system so you don't overwater the entire yard for the sake of your ! color spots, he said. On the periphery of your yard, plant water-efficient, perhaps less J showy, plants that get watered less j frequently. . Landscaping designed with water efficiency in mind is often called "xeriscaping." Rupp said the term- ' -derived from the Greek word "xeric" which means requiring little water-suffers from a bad public pub-lic image. '' People hear xeriscaping xeriscap-ing and think they're hearing "zeroscaping so they get a mental picture of landscapes of lava rock and sand with a few cacti here and there," he said. In reality though, there are many common plants that are fairly drought resistant, Rupp said. Among them are junipers, iris, California poppies, sedums, creeping phlox and many native plants. "We're not advocating that people peo-ple rip up their landscapes, do away with all their turf and start from scratch," he said. "We just need to raise people's consciousness about designing and planting with efficient effi-cient water use in mind. |