Tuesday, July 15, 2008

USE FRIENDLY PLANTS / USE PLANTS THAT REQUIRE LOW WATER

What are friendly plants?

California friendly plants are not native to California but will adapt well to the California climate. They thrive well and offer similar benefits as natives.

CLICK HERE for a listing of California friendly plants.

Another thing that you can do is use plants that require low water. These plants don't require as much water as the others. However when picking a plant that requires little to no watering make sure that it is either native to California or California friendly.

Have common sense when you are picking your plants. Look into the following when picking plants...
  • Does the plant require full sun or partial shade?
  • How much water will your plant require?
  • What is the plant suitable for? Screening, hedging, accents etc.
  • What is the average height and spread of the plant? This will affect the plant placement.
  • Is enough quantities of that plant available when you need it? In some cases designers find that a plant that they have specified on the drawings may not be available in most cases due to the fact that it may be a hot selling item. In that case the designer will have to substitute out that plant for another that is similar.

A great way to look at how other designer have done their work is to drive around various neighborhoods, check out the yards of neighbors, take photos and examine what has been done. You could even look at landscape magazines and books. Keep in mind that just because something looks good on paper or in a photo that does not mean that it will work for your property. You may have a different soil type than the garden in the photo or your yard may be more sunny than what you see in the picture.

"It's like the old saying that says think before you speak WELL! Think and do your homework carefully before committing to something."

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