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| Photo courtesy of Cascade Compost |
If you’re
thinking about treating mom to a plant for her yard or garden or a nice sapling
for Mother’s Day, you may have concerns about the expanding drought in
Washington state.
While we all
should regularly practice water conservation, you can pick a gift for mom this
year from a wide selection of drought tolerant plants and trees.
Homeowners
in most areas of the state won’t be subject to water restrictions this year
because the majority of public water systems are not reporting problems currently
and not anticipating problems with their water supplies.
Nevertheless,
we can all benefit from some practical advice about wise water use. The Washington
State Nursery and Landscape Association recommends that mom use compost in her garden space and
apply a top dressing of mulch (with your help, of course!). Compost and mulch
reduces water needs, is attractive and over time will improve soil structure.
The Great Plant Picks Web site offers a plethora of drought tolerant plants for
the Northwest, a list of 891 perennials, shrubs and trees.
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Hardy Geranium Cransebill
Richie Steffen, Great
Plant Picks
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Mom should
use only as much water as needed for plants and be sure to group plants
together with similar watering needs. If she has an irrigation system, some
yearly maintenance will ensure it is operating efficiently and not wasting
water.
Planting
trees, flowers and shrubs not only increases the value of your mom’s property
but benefits the environment by:
- Reducing stormwater runoff and suspended solids in surface water runoff.
- Removing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter from the air.
In fact, one tree can remove 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere annually, equaling 11,000 miles of car emissions!
While water restrictions may occur in some areas with the
hot, dry summer forecast in most of Washington, your mom doesn’t have to give
up on the plants she loves. Contact your local landscape nursery or landscape professional
on plant selections that thrive with minimal watering needs and offer water
wise solutions at:
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