Eco-friendly Landscaping

Ways to ‘green’ your lawn and reduce its consumption of fresh water

The above video is sure to make you re-think your ideas about lawn. The dependence and amount of water that domestic grass lawns use is usually only noticed when there are droughts and/or water restrictions in place.  There are certain grass species and varieties that are hardier and more drought resistant but they tend to be less attractive.  The alternative is to reduce the size of your lawn and replace some areas with flowers, shrubs and trees (preferably indigenous species).  Plants that attract birds, bees and butterflies help to break the sterile monoculture of lawns.  There are some areas where lawn grass won’t do well; instead of over-fertilizing and over-watering in an attempt make it grow, rather replace it with hardy plants (xeriscape landscaping) such as aloes (whose flowers attract sunbirds during winter) and Bulbinella (Bulbine frutescens). Bulbinella not only attracts pollinators but is a useful medicinal plant that can be used to treat all sorts of skin conditions (including mosquito bites and bee stings).  Another major problem with lawns is that many people over-fertilize (more is better, right?) which can pollute and it’s a waste of money and energy.  A solution to both the high water usage and the over-fertilizing, is to install a grey water irrigation system.  Water Rhapsody’s ‘Garden Rhapsody’ irrigation system uses bath, shower, basin and laundry water (use eco-friendly detergents for washing machines) that would normally have gone down the sewers to our over-capacity sewage plants.  This means that even in times of drought, your lawn will be automatically irrigated with nutrient-rich gray water.  Normal use of soaps and shampoos is encouraged-

Indigenous plants in my Lowveld garden: Bulbinella in the foreground and Aloe chabaudii in the background

these contain nitrates and other chemicals required by plants that replace or reduce fertilizer requirements.  Greywater irrigation not only saves water, it saves money on your water bills and your garden maintenance bills.   All Water Rhapsody water conservation systems offer numerous environmental and money-saving benefits and help you to maximize water-saving.  If you live in Mpumalanga or Limpopo, South Africa, please contact us for a free, no obligations quote.  See a related post: ‘Quick Tips on Saving Water in your Garden‘.