Link To Latest Published Article, “Drought Gardening
for People and Wildlife”
 |
| Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), a native plant, suffers in drought conditions. |
ALL TEXT AND PHOTOS © Marlene A. Condon
The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA daily newspaper) and The News Virginian (Waynesboro, VA daily newspaper) both recently published my article, “Drought gardening for people and wildlife” at the following links, respectively:
If you can’t access it at
either of these sites, I am reproducing it below for your convenience.
Sincerely,
Marlene
Drought Gardening for People and Wildlife
Once again, Virginia is suffering from a significant lack of rain. With each drought building upon the last, the pattern we are in does not bode well for our collective future. Therefore, if you own land, it’d be wise to manage it in the best possible manner to preserve water.
Limiting how often your
property is cut is perhaps the foremost action people can take to preserve
water, especially to conserve ground water. Most lawns are trimmed way too
short, eliminating the "umbrella effect" gained from taller grass.
Longer blades shelter the
ground, suppressing water evaporation from uncovered soil due to sunshine and
wind. Water that goes back into the atmosphere is water that doesn't reach the
water table to feed your well.
Leaving alone unused areas
of grass, such as ditches and hillsides, would be extremely prudent for water
conservation. Hillsides are subject to water runoff if there are not enough
plants to hold the water in place, and ditches can collect water not only to
recharge the soil moisture, but also for the use of wildlife. It’s time for
aesthetics to take a back seat.
 |
| As early as June 25, grass cut way too short in Albemarle County had turned brown. |
When it comes to gardening, you should only water when flowers begin to show signs of wilting. They can withstand this process (if it’s not prolonged), which forces them to grow more roots to help survive unusually dry conditions.
Common horticultural
advice suggests you remove “competing” plants (aka, “weeds”) because they
“steal” water from your plants, but it’s best if “weeding” is minimally done,
especially during drought periods.
When I was young, I
listened to the “experts” one time, and one time only. I reluctantly pulled
wildflowers from among my veggies and quickly learned my lesson. My plants were
wilted by the next day because the soil was no longer shaded by the "weeds".
As with grass, you don’t want bare ground around your plants.
Of course, you can make more work for yourself by putting down a mulch layer in place of the plants you pulled, but living plants in proximity to one another do a great job of maintaining soil moisture—and you don’t need to buy them. As every gardener knows, Mother Nature is constantly trying to fill even the smallest of bare spots.
You should always follow
Mother Nature’s examples, and this is one of them. Conservation of water is one
of the reasons plants are always filling in any bare spot they can find.
Lastly, prepare for the
future by investing in some type of water storage. Rain barrels don’t hold much
liquid, but they will do if your gardening efforts are minimal.
For larger gardens, you’ll
need to consider greater storage capacity. I have two 350-gallon containers
sitting under my deck connected to the nearby downspout. I’m thus able to keep
plants watered and my two small artificial ponds filled.
 |
The
oft-repeated assertion nowadays is that native plants don’t need watering.
Could this be the reason so many newly planted trees around town have died? |
We can help wildlife during drought by making water available in our yards. Bird baths are great for birds and flying insects. Many kinds of 6-legged creatures drink water, or make use of it in other ways. For example, I’ve watched honeybees collect water from my bird bath to bring back to the hive to cool it.
Toads drink water through
their skin, so placing a bird bath on the ground is a great way to help
them—and mammals—to obtain water. Whether the bath is on the ground or a
pedestal, it’s vital that the bath be shallow: a two-inch maximum depth at the
center.
 |
| A Tufted Titmouse gets a drink of water while a House Finch family enjoy taking a bath in July of 2015. |
Do not use mosquito dunks or any other pesticides in bird/toad baths to kill mosquitoes; it’s totally unnecessary. Mosquito eggs will be slurped up by animals drinking water. Additionally, all animals require clean water so you should be dumping out the water every few days anyway (preferably on your plants), which will dump any mosquito eggs within it.
Help hummingbirds by
hanging sugar-water feeders for them. Water-deprived plants can’t make much, if
any, nectar to feed these small birds. Or grow nectar-producing plants in pots
that can be kept watered.
During drought, most
native plants are not getting the amount of water they need. Now is the time to
be realistic, rather than idealistic, and embrace so-called invasive plants.
Most of these plants, such as Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra), do fine
in drought and continue to feed our pollinators (and deer) that could otherwise
starve.
Drought will likely bring
a dearth of seeds come fall for seed-eating birds. Please consider putting out
bird feeders for them when that time arrives.
 |
| Placing unwanted tomatoes in the yard, especially during drought, helps Box Turtles to get the liquid they need. |
NATURE ADVICE:
If global climate change
has brought recurring droughts to your area, it’s time to prepare for similar
future scenarios. Homeowners, as well as government entities, such as highway
departments, and farmers who cut grass for hay, must rethink how they manage
landscapes under their control. It’s no longer business as usual; changing
weather patterns require changing routines.
DISCLAIMER:
Ads appearing at the end of
e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting
free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog
has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other
than the use of the software.
No comments:
Post a Comment