Since Xeriscape is being called the landscape of the 80’s, does that mean we can look for “Space Age” gardens? For Xeriscape, we’re talking proper spacing, not “spacedout!” That means giving the living components (the plants) in our landscapes a little breathing room. Sound refreshing? Appropriate? Or does it evoke the image of a design wanting for more, more, more, suggesting that the landscape budget ran out part way through the project. How do properly spaced plants fit into today’s “Instant Landscape” trend and what does it all have to do with water conservation?

Take a Lesson from the Weeds

We have all had the joyful experience of pulling weeds. Word has it, however, that it is much easier to do when the weeds are small. Fact is, when weeds go neglected for a long time, they get big. Really big. Pull up a big weed (hard work) and take a good look at it It’s a very vigorous plant, the picture of health, right? That’s because the individual plant grew in a large enough space for leaves to catch the most sunlight and the root system was free to explore the necessary volume of soil. This concept seems very elementary, but how often this lesson is ignored! The primary reason for proper spacing is plant vigor.

Companion Plantings

In the area of water conservation, I we need to study the way roots work to take up water. Let’s take a large native shrub, the Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) for example. It’s normal light in the landscape would be 10 to 12 feet with an equal spread. It is a deep rooted plant, tolerant of dry, gravelly soils.

The roots extend wide and deep in search of cool, moist soil deep beneath the surface. Proper spacing for a screen or hedge planting would be t eight to 10 feet on center. Any closer, and we ultimately have a tremendous competition for water in the root zone, resulting in the need for increased irrigation. However, if we plant with the optimum spacing (eight to 10 feet), the Toyon will fill in nicely in about three years. Three years!! “But we want it to look finished right away!” OK, by grouping other drought tolerant plants in and around the Toyon planting, we can make a showing in the first few seasons and actually increase the water conserving capabilities of our main component, the Toyon. How’s that? Well, suppose we were to spot a few Salvia, Eriogonum, Mimulus, and a couple of small-scale Ceanothus in between the properly spaced Toyon, rather than trying to fill the space with Toyon on three foot centers. The result: color and interest is created by the fast growing, flowering perennials, and the Toyon plants now have a few companions. Since the ecology, (i.e.; growth rate, branching habit, root depth, life span, etc.) of these “fill” plants differs from that of our desired screen plant, instead of competition, they offer protection, a little shade (both for the Toyon and the ground surrounding it), organic material in the form of fallen leaves, and a more beneficial soil biology (micro-organisms in the root zone). All of these benefits translate into a more efficient use of water for all the plants in the landscape; a Xeriscape.

Garden Show

We need to re-think many of the common landscape practices today in order to truly achieve the goals of Xeriscape. Mr. Russ Beatty, Landscape Architect, horticultural author and lecturer at UC Berkeley, gave an inspirational keynote address at Xeriscape ‘86. We learned that water conservation can not be achieved by continuing the practice of what he called the “Garden Show Syndrome” of over-planted landscapes, with no regard for future water and maintenance demands.

Ultimately, landscapes with mature groupings of well spaced plants are simply more attractive, save appreciable amounts of water and continue to exist as healthier, happier plantings, than those in the “instant, jungles” we insist on planting today Let’s give our Xeriscape plants a little breathing room. By taking a fresh look at time tested horticultural principles, we can see that there is no need to “re-invent-the-wheel” in landscape design to achieve an appropriate and attractive Xeriscape.