this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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No Lawns
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No way the bottom one doesn't need any watering? No?
If it's local, it's designed to survive on its own. I'm in North Texas and this summer has been hell on everyone's lawns and gardens. The exception for me is my garden with trailing lantana. It is completely unaffected and growing like mad while everything else is drying up and dying.
Also in North Texas and also have thriving lantana while nearly everything else is dried up. I'm kinda at my wits end.
The goal is to have local plant which can survive in local climates. Then you don’t have to water as much or ever.
Big reason why grass lawns require so much constant watering is because they have pretty bad water retention. Having a thick layer of foliage protects the soil from direct sunlight which prevents it from drying out too quickly. Much of that water you see people spraying onto their lawns is actually just gonna evaporate back into the air before the grass even has a chance to use it.
Turf grasses are also very shallow rooted.
The real question is do you have to weed or do other maintenance? I'm looking for a zero maintenance yard not just a zero watering
That sounds like a personal thing. If you want weed in your garden you let it grow. If you don't or if it starts to suffocate plants you care about you get rid of it.
You can have a zero maintenance garden by doing no maintenance and letting whatever grow. If you want to curate your plants that obviously requires effort.
In addition to what the other comment says, the raised garden edgers would reduce/eliminate rain runoff and usually a variety of plants like this provide deep, wide roots which anchor and aerate the soil, increasing it's water retention ability and recuing water requirements, especially compared to shallow root grass
Also the grass could be left to go dormant in dry weather; it doesn't need to be watered. The second photo looks great but it'll be a ton of work to maintain.