Embrace Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

Embrace Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

by | Mar 12, 2024 | Landscaping

A Sustainable Solution for Lush Gardens

In the face of climate change and increasing water scarcity, it’s time to rethink our approach to landscaping. Gone are the days when lush lawns and thirsty gardens were the norm. Today, the call for sustainability resonates louder than ever, and one of the most effective ways to answer that call is through drought-tolerant landscaping.

The Case for Drought-Tolerant Landscaping

Drought-tolerant landscaping, also known as xeriscaping, is a method of landscaping designed to reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental watering. Instead of relying on traditional grass lawns and water-intensive plants, drought-tolerant landscaping focuses on native and low-water plants that can thrive in arid conditions.

The benefits of drought-tolerant landscaping are manifold:

  1. Water Conservation: By choosing plants that require minimal water, homeowners can significantly reduce their outdoor water usage. This not only conserves water but also reduces water bills, making it a win-win for both the environment and your wallet.

 

  1. Low Maintenance: Unlike traditional landscapes, which often require frequent watering, mowing, and fertilizing, drought-tolerant gardens are low-maintenance. Once established, these landscapes require minimal upkeep, saving homeowners time and effort.

 

  1. Environmental Resilience: Drought-tolerant plants are well-adapted to survive in challenging conditions, making them more resilient to drought, extreme temperatures, and other environmental stressors. By incorporating these plants into your landscape, you’re helping to create a more resilient ecosystem.

 

  1. Enhanced Beauty: Contrary to popular belief, drought-tolerant landscaping can be just as beautiful and diverse as traditional gardens. From vibrant succulents and colorful wildflowers to ornamental grasses and shrubs, there’s no shortage of options for creating a visually stunning landscape that thrives in arid conditions.

 

Why Consult with a Professional Landscape Contractor?

While the benefits of drought-tolerant landscaping are clear, implementing such a design requires careful planning and expertise. That’s where a professional landscape contractor like Babylon Gardens Landscaping comes in.

At Babylon Gardens Landscaping, we’re passionate about creating sustainable, beautiful landscapes that enhance the beauty of your outdoor space while conserving water and resources. With years of experience and a commitment to excellence, our team of skilled professionals will work closely with you to design and install a drought-tolerant landscape that exceeds your expectations.

From initial consultation to final installation and ongoing maintenance, we’ll be there every step of the way to ensure your complete satisfaction. Contact us today to learn more about our services and start planning your drought-tolerant landscape makeover. Together, let’s create a greener, more sustainable future, one garden at a time.

5 Types of Trees to Avoid

5 Types of Trees to Avoid

by | Mar 13, 2018 | Landscaping

Think twice before planting these five trees.

Planting trees can spruce up your home landscape, but choosing the wrong tree can cause some major headaches.

Here are five species you might want to avoid when planting a tree:

1. Black walnut tree

Black walnuts are often grown for their shade and edible nuts, but their buds, roots and nut hulls release significant levels of juglone, a chemical that robs sensitive plants of needed energy.

Garden vegetables planted in close proximity to black walnut trees are highly prone to wilting and eventual death. Vulnerable vegetables include tomatoes, peppers, asparagus, cabbage, eggplant, potatoes, and rhubarb.

Trees affected by black walnuts include apple, pear, crabapple, and pine. Lilies, petunias and some chrysanthemums are also vulnerable, as are blackberry and raspberry bushes.

The Bradford pear tree is sensitive to leaf scorch and fire blight, but branch splitting remains the biggest problem. Bradford pears are top heavy and have a v-shaped crotch, which makes them prone to splitting. It’s not uncommon for the Bradford pear tree to split in half, especially during severe weather.

3. Ash tree

S-shaped patterns left by emerald ash borer larvae on an ash tree.

Emerald ash borer larvae leave S-shaped patterns as they feed under the bark of ash trees. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State University)

The ash tree is a target of the emerald ash borer (EAB), a beetle once native to East Asia. Initially found in Michigan in 2002, EABs likely arrived via packing materials made of ash wood.

EABs threaten the more than 8 billion ash trees in the United States, where they’ve often been planted in residential settings due to their resistance to severe weather, diseases, and pests. While nibbling by mature EABs can hurt foliage, the worst damage comes from their larvae, which feed on inner bark, thus disrupting water and nutrient transport.

Split bark, heavy woodpecker activity, leaf loss and water sprouts at the trunk are all signs of EAB infestation.

4. Ginkgo tree

The yellow leaves of a ginko tree.

The female version of the colorful ginkgo tree produces a troublesome fruit in late fall. (Photo by Susanne Nilsson)

Found on five continents, slow-growing gingko (biloba) trees can reach 115 feet and are popular residential trees because of their durability.

The problem comes in late fall, when female trees produce a putrid-smelling “fruit,” which sticks to shoes and can get tracked indoors. Because there’s no way to distinguish male and female varieties at the seedling stage, the ginkgo tree is plagued by the rotten byproduct.

If you really want a stink-free ginkgo tree, seek out Autumn Gold and Lakeview varieties, which are male-only.

5. Sweetgum tree

Leaves from a sweetgum tree

The sweetgum tree provides long-lasting color, but its spiny balls are a major drawback. (Photo by Sean Hickin)

While it can be beautiful, especially in the fall, the sweetgum’s spiny brown balls, which come down by the thousand, are a major drawback.

There are many ways the “gumballs” might cause injury. You can slip and land on them as they roll. Shot out of a lawnmower, they become a hazardous projectile. They also don’t rake easily, so you have to pick them up by hand, an unenviable task.