Redesigning new zone 10 garden for shade and water economy

14 years ago

I have a new built house on the Algarve and I am now in my second summer of living with the garden. The garden is quite big but rather featureless with herbaceous borders around the edges. It suffers from the problems of new gardens: poor soil, no large established shade trees, extensive areas of 'lawn'. The lawn grass is now, in midsummer, poor, with large dead areas and this despite nightly watering (at excessive cost).

I am a little overwhelmed - how to redesign the garden for shade and water economy?

I realise the quickest way to sort the problem is to have the garden professionally redesigned but I really can't afford this.

Has anyone gone through the same process and have any tips about where to start?

Comments (4)

gardenguru1950
14 years ago
1. Start with RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT PLACE. Find the plants that grow where your garden is, without the need for extra water. Lots of "Mediterranean" climate plants (from the Basin, from Australia, from Chile, from the Cape of So. Africa and from California.

2. Reduce or eliminate the garden water-guzzlers (traditional roses, birches, liquidambar, weeping willow, poplars, magnolia, bamboos, citrus, avocados)

3. Design your garden to be functional. First. And then embellish for beauty.

4. Get rid of the lawn. Completely. No if's, and's or but's.

5. Choose an effective irrigation system. One that trains plants to be drought-tolerant. Drip ain't it.

6. Turn off the computerized irrigation controller most of the time and use your own brain -- and finger.

7. Set up your sprinkler system or hose to avoid watering hard surfaces such as driveways and patios.

8. Regularly check your hose or irrigation equipment for leaks or blockages.

9. Hydrozone -- Group plants with similar water needs to make watering more efficient
1. Plant at the right time. Take advantage of cool fall weather and winter rains by planting in October-November for most Med. Plants.
2. Contrary to popular -- almost universal -- belief, adding organic matter to the soil ("amendment") does not lead to a drought-tolerant garden.
3. Water newly-planted plants WELL. Starting with soaking the planting hole THOROUGHLY before putting the plant in.
4. Cover the ground -- with hardscape or plants. ALL the ground.
5. Mulch newly-planted plants. But NOT the whole landscape.
6. Mulch intense garden working areas: orchards, vegetable gardens.
7. Manage weeds. (do NOT pull them.)
8. Reduce fertilizing. Where you MUST fertilize, use an organic fertilizer.
18 Prune trees and other woody plants only when necessary. Pruning stimulates shoot growth, which increases the need for water.
1. Plant windbreaks where wind is a factor in growing plants (as well as in being comfortable outside).
2. Collect and use rainwater. And design your garden to channel what does hit the ground during the rainy season.
3. Do some homework on gray water usage. What's legal in your area?
4. RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT PLACE. Again.
Joe
olivesandoranges
13 years ago
I found this website really useful http://www.jardin-sec.com/.
The website is in french, but the photos are really inspiring, and i can manage browsing the catalouge just fine, with very basic french.
He breaks plants down into levels of drought tolerance, and has lists of selections for: lawn replacements, dry shade, pioneer plants, plants that self seed etc.

His book is available in english, called 'The Dry Gardening Handbook', again lovely pictures, but also a lot of background, site preperation, keeping plants that need some water near the house, and an A-Z of the plants.

Unfourtunatly I am better at the research and planning, than the doing (!), so can't testinfy to the results.

Here is a link that might be useful: Le Jardin Sec
nmgirl
13 years ago
Caracola, what type of lawn grass do you have? A small lawn planted with the appropriate variety of turf grass helps cool the surrounding area.
You need to develop a plan for your yard. What is most important to you? Where do you want to start redesigning your landscape? Have you visited other area gardens or wandered around the neighborhood to see how things are doing? What plants do you like? What do you want to do in your garden? Do your homework before you pick up a shovel or trowel.
If you do it in stages and in amounts you can deal with the project won't get overwhelming either in work load or the bank account. If the entire area is "professionally" landscaped all at once the effort to keep the new plants watered and cared for until they are established can be exhausting.
Have you considered using native/indigenous plants? They should be able to take whatever the soil and climate can dish out.
Gardenguru has some good ideas, I especially like the comments on automatic watering systems. They're highly overrated and the bane of my existence, on top of that they're expensive to install and a pain to maintain.
I do take exception to guru's view on lawns. The appropriate turf grass correctly managed takes no more water than many supposedly "xeric" plants.
Right plant, right place is the mantra.
Good luck and let us know how things are progressing.
Nikitas_10a, Corfu
13 years ago
I'm writing this message just for future reference for people interested in this topic. You will find all the answers you were searching for - and then some - in the seminars Joe (aka gardenguru1950) gave at Aroyo Grande, CA. The seminars are available online for free and are very informative and fun to watch. Joe is a great guy and I want to thank him for his contribution in this and other gardenweb forums.

Nikitas
Corfu, Greece

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenguru1950 landscape seminars at Aroyo