Twenty participants found out the best ways to improve their landscape and save water at the Lake Lanier Association’s Native Plant Workshop, held September 22.
Speakers included
- Billy Skaggs, Hall County Extension Agent, gave tips for saving water in the landscape and coping with watering restrictions through proper soil amendment and plant selection;
- Cynthia Taylor, Elachee Nature Center, addressed why it is better to use native plants and which types of plants are best;
- Scarlett Fuller, City of Gainesville Water Department, spoke on how to save water and the benefits of using rain barrels.
What to Water?
“Watering your trees is a much wiser choice that watering annuals or perennials,” Skaggs said. “It’s much more expensive to replace a tree with years of growth than to buy smaller plants. Trees need plenty of water to survive, so set them as a priority for your allowed watering during the week.”
Watering restrictions were eased somewhat this year to allow for up to 25 minutes of hand watering three days per week on an odd-even basis. Odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Even-numbered addresses can water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Watering may be done between midnight and 10 a.m., which is more effective because the air is cooler and there’s less evaporation.
New professionally installed landscape plantings, may be watered following the same schedule, for up to 10 weeks. Irrigation systems may be used during this time.
Vegetable gardens and food source plants, such as fruit trees, are exempt from watering restrictions.
What to Plant?
“Using native plants makes good sense in our landscapes,” said Cynthia Taylor with the Elachee Nature Center. “They’re already adapted to our conditions and there are many pleasing varieties to choose from.” She suggested coneflowers, Joe Pye weed, black-eyed Susan, asters, ferns, sedum and beauty berry as good selections that grow with little or no ongoing care.
Taylor also talked about exotic (non-native) invasive plants that can do harm to the landscape and the environment. These include Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle, English ivy, Asian wisteria, princess trees and mimosa
“Many people love these plants, but if left unchecked, these plants can take over,” Taylor said. “They can quickly overgrow your desirable plants, plus some of them are disease-prone. Stick with natives and you’ll be rewarded.”
Water-saving Tips
Fuller shared water-saving tips for indoors and out, including checking toilets and faucets for leaks and repairing them promptly, using low-flow toilets and showerheads, reducing the time you take for a shower to less than 10 minutes. She also suggested monitoring your water bill to see if there are significant changes that might indicate a leak.
“Catch cold water while waiting for the water to warm before taking a bath and add it into your washing machine during the week” she said. “Also use rain barrels to catch water from your gutters and use it to water your trees.”
The Lake Lanier Association held this workshop to inform its members and participants on how native plants are beneficial to the landscape and environment, including their ability to be more drought tolerant and low maintenance, to reduce erosion, to improve pollution and storm-water run off and to help create habitats for wildlife.
Thank you to Pam Keene and Lakeside on Lanier for contributions to this workshop and this overview.
More information can be found on the following sites:
Information on Invasive/Exotic Plants
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| From Lake Lanier Association Native Plant Workshop |
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| From Lake Lanier Association Native Plant Workshop |