‘Drought-tolerant plants’ can make your yard more sustainable

She’s a big advocate of xeriscaping, a way to embrace sustainable landscaping and minimize the amount of water being used.

“If we can get into the cycle of the seasons and what plants are actually trying to do, it will be a lot less work for us,” Gardner said.

She says it’s more eco-friendly and can attract birds and butterflies.

You don’t have to look far to find a xeriscape example. Medicine Hat College has a demonstration garden.

Brent Smith with the Environment Reclamation Program at the college says it’s a way to embrace sustainable landscaping and minimize the amount of water being used.

“Using drought-tolerant plants, it’s using rainwater that falls off of your roof rather than relying on city water to irrigate your plants,” Smith said.

He says there’s water stress everywhere and it has a big impact on climate change.

As demand and global temperatures go up, Smith encourages people to consider reducing personal consumption.

“The questions we need to ask as a society are is that water best used to water lawns or is it best used to support agriculture,” Smith said.

He says one of the best ways to do this is by replacing a typical lawn with a drought-tolerant plant oasis.

Gardner suggests planting native species.

“There’s shrubs, there’s trees, there’s perennial flowers, there’s a whole range you can use and depending on the look you want and whether you can catch some rain water and direct that to some of the ones that need a little more,” Gardner said.

If you’re looking to get started, Gardner says suggests starting by reducing your lawn size and planting along the borders.

by Teagan Rasche

‘Drought-tolerant plants’ can make your yard more sustainable

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