More and more Minneapolis area homeowners are becoming aware of the need to help protect and preserve Minnesota’s water resources. In fact, some Twin Cities communities have, from time to time, adopted policies and regulations limiting the use of water for lawn and garden irrigation during drier seasons. And since we don’t know what kind of a spring and summer we have in store for us in terms of water levels, it might be good to be prepared to make wise and judicious use of water. Even if we’ve got a particularly wet year, making water conservation part of your lifestyle just makes good environmental sense. And cutting down on the outdoor water usage can save you money as well.
Adding a rain barrel to collect rainfall for garden watering is a good place to start. So is adding mulch to your garden beds to reduce evaporation and cut down on watering needs. Bob Vila has helpful tips such as these and more.
One thing he mentioned that we’re highly in favor of is including native plants, grasses, and shrubs in your yard rather than using varieties that aren’t common to this part of Minnesota. Native plant species, trees, and shrubs generally have adapted to the moisture level of the local area and rarely need supplemental watering, except in periods of drought. There are also varieties of drought-resistant grass available if you’re putting in a new lawn and want to keep water use to a minimum.
If you have questions about how you can make changes to your landscape to cut down on water usage in your own yard, please let us know.
