Many people think that landscaping is a great way to preserve water. On the other hand, most critics challenge this fact by saying that landscaping is the number one water consumer. This is because they believe that the more colorful and organized the garden is, it just has to be consuming a larger amount of water.
Over recent times research has shown that landscaping actually only uses up 2.9% of the overall national water consumption and this could be lowered still if people would just stop to consider the limitation of the water supply.
So how are the excesses in water consumption accounted for? According to some experts, the major cause of unnecessary water consumption in landscaping is when it is not used properly and only the people who carry out improper use of the water can be held responsible for this.
Poor landscaping plans and incorrect irrigation systems are just two of the common mistakes made by people using water when landscaping their gardens or yards.
Many experts state that the natural resource of water can supply up to 67% of the total amount of water used in any given year, so taking this into account we are faced with an immense opportunity to preserve water.
The fact remains however, that gardeners and landscapers are a mind to themselves and make their own decisions in choosing what to do, regardless of any guidance supplied by the experts on how best to preserve water when preparing their gardens.
How can we make a difference? Well, the perfect example would be a water sprinkler set on an automatic timer providing the required use of water for a controlled amount of time. If the sprinkler is set to operate during hours of low temperature, immediate evaporation would not occur and the plants would receive more benefits of the water.
Any reasonably experienced landscaper is aware that the life of his plants does not depend entirely on water alone. Pests need to be done away with in order to maintain the gardens landscaped appearance and to keep the plants healthy.
There are many natural ways to destroy pests, such as encouraging pest-eating bugs to live in your yard. These include ladybugs, stink bugs, and assassin bugs. These various bugs eat anything from aphids and potato bugs to mealy bugs and spider mites.
Another way to discourage pests is to alternate the planting of different species of plant. Pests like certain plants, and if a bunch of the plants are grouped together the pests will have a population explosion. By spacing out the plants, fewer pests are attracted and so there are fewer offspring.
People should always keep in mind that it is not necessary to use a large amount of water to maintain a well landscaped garden or backyard. Water conservation and gardening should go hand in hand, concluding that the use of water should be both efficient and controlled.
Our home water bill is usually one of the smallest utility bills that we have to pay. This can mean that we may not pay as much attention to the amount of water that we waste on a daily basis because we are not really worried about the costs. Just because our water bill does not cost a tremendous amount each month when compared to our electric or gas bill, does not mean we should not do our best to conserve our water supply.
It might seem impossible that we could ever run out of clean drinking water, but the fact is that in so many countries like Africa, clean drinking water is a rare commodity in some areas. Just imagine if we here in the United States were to suddenly have the same problem. It might not happen tomorrow or even in ten years, but if we do not learn to be more careful with the pollutants that we allow into our water supplies and start conserving the water that we have now, our future generations could be faced with this terrible problem.
We can go many days without food, but the case is not the same for water. We must have water to survive. This is why it is important to learn to conserve water now instead of later. There are many things we can do that will not even interfere with our daily routines, but will help conserve our water supply. There are many brands of showerheads and water faucets available today that disperse lesser amounts of water when we use them. After they are installed, we will hardly notice the difference in the water amounts that are coming out, if we even notice at all. These faucets alone can help save water.
Learning to turn the faucet off as we brush our teeth or wash our hands also saves water. We do not realize how much water we waste as it runs down the drain while we are occupied doing something else. Waiting until we are actually ready to get into the shower before we turn the water on can save some. Many times we will turn on the shower a full five minutes before we even get in. This is an unnecessary waste. Always filling the bathtub to the brim is something else we do too often. Why run a full tub of water if we are just going to be in it for a few minutes?
Outside is another place we waste water. Use a sprayer that only allows water to come out when you squeeze the handle. This will mean you only use what you actually need to water plants, wash the car, or other outside cleaning projects. Using water wisely now means we could have enough to last us for years and years to come. You know the future inhabitants of our planet will be so glad we did.
Both Carol Stack & Rachel Yoshida are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.