Plan a Waterwise Landscape

Traditional landscape methods can require a lot of time, effort and resources to install and maintain. There are smarter ways to make your yard beautiful. Consider a waterwise landscape. These step-by-step instructions show you how to design a landscape that works for you—and gives you a yard that’s the envy of the neighborhood.

Preparation

Waterwise landscaping doesn’t mean removing all plant life from your yard. It’s a matter of using your landscape efficiently to achieve great results. There are seven steps to waterwise landscaping:

Planning and design
Preparing the soil
Creating practical turf areas
Selecting water-efficient plants
Spreading mulch
Installing efficient irrigation
Maintaining the landscape

These printable instructions and the companion video cover some of the basics of planning and design. The other steps are described in How to Install a Waterwise Landscape, available at Lowes.com/Videos.

TIP: More information on waterwise landscaping is available online at Learn2Grow.com.

01 Call 811 to be connected with your local utility companies. They will mark any underground service lines to avoid.

Drawing a Property Layout

01 Gather the tools needed to draw a plan of your property and waterwise landscaping: tape measure, paper, ruler and pencil.

02 Draw a basic plan of your property on paper. Try to make it to scale and include things like your house, deck or patio, and trees. Indicate compass directions as well as areas of shade and full sun.

TIP: A scale drawing is proportional rather than full size. Scale drawings can be made on blank paper or, more easily, graph paper that is printed with a grid of horizontal and vertical lines that can represent any measurement. Typical residential yards can be drawn to a scale of 1' of yard equaling ¼" on paper. Graph paper, for example, is printed with four ¼" squares to the inch, so one square would represent one square foot.

03 Mark more visible areas that will be seen by others, such as your front yard, as well as areas that are private. More visible areas usually require more maintenance.

04 Make a few copies of your property layout so you can try different designs.

05 Add to the drawing any future hardscape additions, such as a deck or patio. You don’t have to completely change your landscape at once. Just make some proposed additions now and complete the plans and installation later. You can see the step-by-step instructions for building a deck or patio at Lowes.com/Videos.

Establishing Water-Use Zones and Turf Areas

01 Establish water-use zones in your yard. These aren’t the regional hardiness zones covered in the next section. Water-use zones refer to the amount of water needed by plants in different areas of your yard. There are three types of zones: arid, transitional and oasis.

Arid zones don’t require much supplemental watering. This is where you would want to place drought-tolerant plants (varies by region). Arid zones are usually away from the house, at the top of a hill or slope, and get full sun.
Transitional zones require a moderate watering schedule. Consider putting a transitional zone in an area that gets partial shade.

Plan a Waterwise Landscape

Oasis zones are areas that require high water use. Typically, oasis zones are highly visible, such as in the front yard, next to the house, or near a patio or deck.

TIP: As you plan water-use zones, consider the water sources. For example, landscape maintenance is easier if oasis zones are in areas that collect natural drainage and are near outdoor water faucets. This is especially important in colder climates where long water lines are more susceptible to freezing. You can install a rain collection system for watering your landscape to help save on watering costs. For instructions on building a system for your yard, refer to How to Install a Rain Barrel at Lowes.com/Videos.

TIP: Also consider placing oasis zones in areas of the yard that are naturally moist.

Selecting Water-Efficient Plants

01 Select appropriate plants for your chosen water-use zones that are appropriate for your growing zone.

To find your zone, visit Lowes.com/Plants.

TIP: Growing zone or hardiness maps indicate the lowest temperatures expected for specific locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. There are 11 growing zones in North America. If you need help finding plants for your region, ask a Lowe’s associate for help. Additional information on plants can be found online at Learn2Grow.com.

Map

Plants that work well in one region may not thrive in another.

02 When you’re determining where to place plants on your design, group them according to those needs, and place them in the appropriate water-use zone in your yard.

TIP: For additional advice on appropriate plant selection, ask a Lowe’s associate for specific recommendations for your waterwise landscape plan.

03 One of the techniques to designing a waterwise landscape is creating practical turf areas, so choose a type of grass that is appropriate for your climate. If you live in the North, you should use cool-season grasses like ryegrass, bluegrass and fescues. In the South, lawns shoud be St. Augustine grass, Bermuda grass or Zoysia grass. Planning your waterwise landscape on paper can help save both time and money. By following these steps, you should have a good idea of how to design a waterwise landscape for your home. For further instructions, watch How to Install a Waterwise Landscape at Lowes.com/Videos.

Submit Comments & Photos

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful. Was this comment helpful?

Flag this comment.

Please feel free to post a comment and someone from LowesCreativeIdeas.com will review your submission. You can check back after 24 hours to see if your comment has been posted.

Fields in BOLD are required to preview and submit your comment.

Your Name (displayed with comment)
close[X]

Instructions

Your email will only be used in the event that one of our moderators needs to clarify your comment. It will be used strictly in the context of or relating to your comment.

Your email will NOT be used for marketing purposes or shared with any 3rd parties.

Your Email
(Why do we ask?)
Your Location (eg, 'Chicago, IL')
Your Photo

Have a photo? Attach it to your comment here.
Make sure your photo meets the following requirements:
Max File Size: 2 MB
File Types: jpeg/jpg, gif
Photos will be scaled to fit this space.

Upload Photo
Your Comment

Character count: 0

(500 character limit)
Enter the above image text

close[X]

If you do not see the security words image:

• Make sure the version of your browser is current. For example, you need to have at least Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape 6.0 or higher.

• Make sure your graphics (pictures and images) are turned on or enabled in your browser.

• Refresh your browser and try again. You may want to copy your comment though as it will not be saved.

Can't see the image?

close[X]

Instructions

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

If you are not sure what the words are, either enter your best guess or refresh the browser for a new set image.

What is this?
Terms & Conditions Terms of Use & Guidelines Lowe’s Creative Ideas Web Community Lowe’s and its affiliates (“Lowe’s”) offer this Creative Ideas Web Community (“Community”) to users to enable them to share projects and ideas and discuss how to use and enjoy a variety of home improvement products and services. If you have questions or concerns regarding a Lowe’s home improvement store or the services or products offered by Lowe’s, please contact at http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=topicSelect&topic=contactUs These Terms of Use & Guidelines (“Community Terms”) govern your use of and conduct associated with the Community, including all comments, information, and any other content submitted by you or other users. If you submit any content on or through the Community, you are acknowledging and accepting these Community Terms, as well as Lowe’s Terms and Conditions of Use (“General Terms”) for Lowes.com and Lowe’s Privacy and Security Statements (“Privacy Terms”). To the extent of any conflict between these Community Terms and the General Terms, Privacy Terms, these Community Terms shall control with respect to the Community. Lowe’s has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor, review, revise, and/or remove any content posted by a user. Lowe’s assumes no liability for any content posted by a user and Lowe’s does not regularly review all such content. You are solely responsible for any content that you submit, the consequences of posting that content, and your reliance on any communications found in the Community. By submitting any content you acknowledge and agree to the following: • Lowe's has the right but not the obligation to display all content you provide for public view; • The content you submit is non-confidential for all purposes; • You are not using a false e-mail address, impersonating any person or entity, or otherwise misrepresenting yourself or the origin of the content you submit; • You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to content you submit; • All content you post is accurate, truthful, and lawful; • Use of the content you submit does not violate these Community Terms; • Use of the content you submit will not cause injury or harm to any entity or person; • Use of the content you submit will not give rise to any claim against Lowe’s, and the content you submit shall not, in the judgment of Lowe’s, expose Lowe’s or any of its customers or suppliers to any liability or detriment of any type; • You grant to Lowe’s and all Community users an unrestricted, irrevocable, world-wide, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense through multiple tiers of sublicensees) and right: (i) to use, reproduce, display, perform, modify, adapt, publish, translate, and transmit and distribute your content for any purpose and in any media; (ii) to rate, review, comment on and tag your content; and (iii) to send and distribute your content via E-mail, Instant Messenger or otherwise over or through the Internet or any other electronic communications system; • With regard to any media content that you submit (such as photos, audio, etc.), you warrant that you have permission from all persons appearing in such media content for you to make the submission and grant the rights described herein, and you certify that any person pictured in the submitted media content (or, if a minor, his/her parent/legal guardian) authorizes Lowe’s to use, copy, print, display, reproduce, modify, publish, post, transmit and distribute the media content and any material included in such media content. • You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Lowe's, its affiliates and subsidiaries, and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, attorneys, assigns and successors-in-interest, and third-party service providers from and against any and all liabilities, damages, losses, claims, demands, assessments, actions, causes of action, costs (including attorneys' fees and expenses) and any of them, arising out of or resulting from the content you submit, your failure to comply with the terms set forth herein, or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party; • In addition to all other remedies available, you acknowledge that Lowe’s has the right to (i) remove your content from the Community or refuse to include your content in the Community, (ii) suspend or terminate your account or refuse to grant you access to any current or future use of the Community or any other Lowe’s service, with or without warning, if Lowe’s, in its sole discretion, believes you have: (1) violated or tried to violate the rights of Lowe’s or others; or (2) violated or tried to violate or otherwise acted inconsistent with these Community Terms or any other applicable terms or conditions. • Lowe's assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third-party; and • All content you submit is subject to each of these Community Terms, the General Terms, and the Privacy Terms, collectively. You further agree and represent that you will not submit any content: • that is illegal, obscene, vulgar, offensive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, libelous, slanderous, hateful, abusive, discriminatory, racially or religiously biased or offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit, indecent or embarrassing to any other person or entity, or otherwise restricts or inhibits any other user from using and enjoying the Community; • invasive of privacy, infringing of intellectual property rights, injurious or objectionable to third parties, • that is fraudulent or otherwise constitutes or contains false, inaccurate or misleading indications of origin, endorsement or statements of fact; • that violates, plagiarizes, misappropriates or infringes the rights of third parties including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, contract, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; • that violates any law, statute, ordinance, code or regulation; • that consists of or contains advertisements, political campaigning, commercial solicitations, chain letters or pyramid schemes of any kind, mass mailings, any form of "spam", embedded links, or references to other products, offers, Websites, URLs, or viruses. For the purposes of these Community Terms, "viruses" includes, without limitation, software routines, codes or instructions, hardware components or combinations thereof, that are designed to (a) permit unauthorized access to software; or (b) disable, delete, modify, damage, or erase software, hardware or data, including, but not limited to, components that are commonly referred to as "viruses," "back doors," "time bombs," "Trojan Horses," "worms" or "drop dead devices"; • that consists of or contains e-mail addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses or other forms of personal or contact information; and • for which you were compensated or provided any consideration by any third party. Lowe's has no obligation to post any content that you or anyone else submits. Without limiting the foregoing, Lowe’s reserves the right not to post your content if it contains any of the following or violates other posted or referenced guidelines: • Keep it clean: Obscenities, profanity, discriminatory language, or other language not suitable for public display. • No ads: Advertising or referencing other products, offers, or websites is strictly prohibited. • No personal information: Email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses or other personal information will not be accepted for posting. • No content that identifies any specific store or employee. • No harassing content: Do not attack other users or make overly critical comments regarding other reviews. • No off-topic information. Lowe’s shall have no liability to users of the Community or any other person or entity for refusing or failing to post, or removing, editing, or disclosing, any content that you or anyone else submits. Copyright Infringement If you believe any content accessible on or from the Community (including the content of other users’ posts and submissions) infringes your copyright rights, you may request removal of such content (or access thereto) by submitting a DMCA Notification at http://lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=topicSelect&topic=dmcaNAT. If your submitted content was removed from the Community (or access thereto is disabled) due to an allegation of copyright infringement, and you believe such content is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post such content, you may submit a DMCA Counter-Notification at http://lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=topicSelect&topic=dmcaCN. In an effort to protect the rights of copyright owners, Lowe’s maintains a policy for the termination, in appropriate circumstances, of the accounts of repeat infringers.
I have read and agree to all of the Terms & Conditions
Please review your comment for accuracy and click submit. To edit your comment, click edit.
Once submitted LowesCreativeIdeas.com will review your submission. You can check back after 24 hours to see if your comment has been posted.

Total Votes: 7

(1)

close[X]

These "social bookmarking" services make it easier to share and manage your favorite online content.

StumbleUpon, digg, and del.icio.us help you gather content from around the web, describe it how you see fit, and tag it for easy sorting. These sites also allow you to see what other people are gathering and tagging (if they've made it public), and find new content that may interest you.

Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace also allow you to share content that you find interesting, with people who visit or subscribe to your personal profile.

(What are these?)