Water-Wise Landscaping With Herbs

When we first landed on our 42-acre farm in the Ozarks, our first priority was to stabilize the eroding clay hillside and adjacent valley. Slowly, we transformed that terrifying moonscape into a flourishing, self-sustaining water-wise garden. From the first plant in the ground to the last, it was the common culinary herbs that were among the most beautiful and beneficial.

Herbs For Harsh Landscapes

Despite being planted in compacted red clay dirt during one of the hottest and driest years we had seen in decades, the handful of culinary herbs we unceremoniously stuck in the ground that first year responded with surprising vigor in harsh landscape. They grew slowly, but steadily, and ultimately were among the most productive and resilient in terms of fertilizer or pest control. And more importantly, they never begged for water.

Over the years, we would divide those perennial herbs and transplant divisions into to the erosion-prone slope behind the house. During the winter and spring, when the soil was moist, their roots dug deeply into the clay helping to stabilize the hillside, while their stems caught and held layers of protective mulch that was key to halting the eroding red clay hillside from slumping down into the back of our house and washing down into the valley where a wet-weather stream ran.

Not only did the herbs grow more beautiful as the years passed, but they also attracted scads of butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators to the garden. They also attracted masses of beneficial predators of insect pests like praying mantises, spiders and parasitic wasps. These good bugs helped keep our beyond organic vegetable garden free of insect pests.

As if that weren’t enough, the herbs provided more quality spices, seasonings, tea, and herbal medicines than we could possibly use each year. And to top that, they grew and propagated, year after year with little to no irrigation.

Xeriscaping Anywhere

When you set out to do further research on xeriscaping methods, keep in mind that the original xeriscape system was developed specifically for gardeners living in Colorado and other southwestern states where extreme drought conditions naturally exist. This system is intensely focused on dryland plant species and minimal to zero irrigation, which may not exactly suit your desires if you live in an area that suffers only occasional or seasonal drought.

In the Ozarks I can grow plants that gardeners in the dry Western states can only dream of because we just get more rain than they do, even during annual summer droughts. And if you live in an area like I do, where rainfall is adequate most years, you may not need to follow the strict guidelines called for in the original xeriscape system. Using what is sometimes referred to as “low-water” or “controlled irrigation” landscaping may be better suited to your situation.

Whatever your specific needs are, by reducing and concentrating the use of irrigation, you not only conserve water, lower your water bill or reduce stress on a private well, you also go a long way to protect natural waterways and aquifers for future generations.

The Wonders of Mulch

Rocks, gravel, or pebbles can be used as mulch around perennial plants like this lavender.

Obviously, not every gardener lives in a climate with perfect weather. Some have longer or shorter growing seasons, some have harsh winters, while others can only grow certain crops during the cooler winter months. In all soil types and climatic zones, mulch is the singular key to a successful xeric garden. I can’t stress this enough. Organic and natural mulches, be they straw, hay, deciduous leaves, grass clippings, bark chips, sawdust and even rocks or gravel, help to protect the soil from the harsh forces of nature and reduce water consumption.

Mulch prevents evaporation of moisture, keeps roots cool in summer and warm in winter, ends the destructive cycle of freeze-and-thaw heaving of plants, and eliminates the loss of topsoil and added amendments like compost. Mulch also attracts worms, toads and burrowing insects whose tunnels not only “turn” the soil, but add nutrients to it while simultaneously creating avenues for water to dive deep into the soil where plant roots need it most.

Mulch also encourages beneficial fungi and microorganisms to take up residence in the soil around plants, creating and digesting organic matter that improves overall soil tilth and fertility. In short, a 3”- 4” layer of natural mulch can make or break the xeric garden, no matter the type of soil it covers. One final benefit of mulch is that it can easily hide ugly soaker and drip irrigation hoses, which can be an integral part of successful xeriscaping.

In my next article, I’ll show you a diverse line-up of gorgeous water-wise herbs that anyone can grow!

Until then,
Happy Gardening!

Learn more about growing herbs in my book:
The Healing Power of Kitchen Herbs

The Healing Power of Kitchen Herbs is a no-nonsense guide jam-packed with no-nonsense information on growing, harvesting and using 35 of the world’s safest and most flavorful herbs. In addition to the 35 detailed herbal monographs are entire chapters on growing, harvesting and using kitchen herbs to spice up your favorite dish or create healing herbal remedies. This is one book you will turn to. Available in the Show Me Oz Bookstore

Jill Henderson is an artist, author and the editor of Show Me Oz and Forever Pet Portraits. Her books, The Healing Power of Kitchen Herbs, The Garden Seed Saving Guide, A Journey of Seasons, and Illuminati Agenda 21, can be found in the Show Me Oz Bookstore. Jill has been a featured columnist for Acres USA and a Contributing Author for Llewellyn’s Herbal Almanac. Her work has also appeared in The Permaculture Activist and The Essential Herbal, among others.