Xeriscaped spaces are sustainable for many reasons. It’s widely known that xeriscaped areas won’t need anywhere near as much water as many similar landscapes. However, the environmental benefits of xeriscape landscaping are even more extensive than that. Xeriscaped lawns won’t usually require a lot of pesticides and similarly toxic chemicals.
Pollution Reduction
A xeriscaped landscape will be less wet than many other landscapes. Insects often prefer very moist outdoor environments and ecosystems.
There are certainly some insect species that can survive in arid environmental conditions. However, some of those insects will usually only be found in certain areas. People who live outside those areas typically won’t have to worry about them.
The people who add a new water feature to a landscape in most areas will often immediately start having new issues with bugs. Individuals who xeriscape their yards instead may see the opposite effect in action.
If they previously had some issues with insects and other pests, those problems could resolve themselves relatively easily. Even some larger pests like rodents might not adapt well to the new xeriscaped landscape, causing them to leave.
Mice tend to thrive in areas that are wet and that have a lot of seeds and quick food sources that they can access. Many xeriscaped lawns won’t have the conditions that mice prefer, which may give people the chance to subtly address a genuine mouse problem.
Lots of people want to avoid using chemicals to stop or prevent various pest issues. They’re familiar with the environmental consequences of using most pesticides. These chemicals are also frequently expensive, and they can take time to use.
Many people now are looking for alternatives to pesticides. In some cases, they’ll ultimately end up replacing some pesticides with less toxic variants.
One of the best ways to avoid using pesticides altogether just involves working around the need for pesticides in the first place. Xeriscaping makes that possible in a lot of areas. This landscaping method can be used to address multiple environmental problems, and those problems often reinforce one another.
Water Conservation
Saving water has been an important environmental goal for a long time. People have often used quite a lot of water as part of outdoor landscaping.
Lawn sprinkler systems have become somewhat more efficient more recently, but they still cause households to consume much more water than they would otherwise. Many people don’t use all that much water throughout the day indoors. They’ll often use more water outside their homes than they ever would inside their homes.
People are often worried about using less water outside, however. It’s common for people to water their plants too heavily, but they might be just as concerned about the possibility of giving them an insufficient amount of water.
Lots of individuals might feel better about using less water if they have a xeriscaped yard, since these spaces naturally need fewer water resources. People who might accidentally end up giving their plants more water than the plants require may not have the same issues if their lawns have been xeriscaped.
Lawns that are heavily watered and treated with a lot of pesticides can experience some unique problems. Pesticide runoff can be more of an issue under these circumstances. The toxins may not be contained within the lawn itself as a result.
A xeriscaped area might have very few problems with pesticide runoff. Space won’t have to be watered as much as some landscapes, and people may not need to use pesticides at all. People will potentially stop both problems, and stop those problems from contributing to an even larger issue.
