Gardening the old fashioned way

As Children the first thing we learn about gardening and plants is they need water. Many of us began our lifelong passion for gardening by clutching a water can running after our grandmother sprinkling a tomato plant or a sunflower. Perhaps we watched in amazement as an avocado or a piece of wandering Jew roots sprouted when stuck in a simple glass of water.

Until recently plentiful water for gardening was given, even in many of the drier parts of the North American continent. Over the past three decades water has become and increasing precious and unreliable commodity.

While this may seem like bad news in the garden it needn’t be. You may already be acquainted with the idea of a waterwise garden. Perhaps you’ve heard the word xeriscape. This term, often misspelled and always mispronounced derives from the Greek word xeros, which mean zero or dry landscape. Along with the term a group of steps were developed to simplify and systemize the concept’s this has helped spread the word about water wise gardening, but the basic concept of gardening with less water is not necessarily limited to those definition and steps