Well, it is summer in Texas and hot as hot can be! With the heat and no rain to speak of, the lawns, landscaping and gardens are really suffering. If you want to keep them watered and also care about protecting our precious water supply, here are a few helpful hints:

For your lawn itself, water in the late evening or early morning hours to minimize evaporation since it is a little bit cooler. Make sure your outdoor hose bibs, hoses and sprinklers do not have leaks. If you do not water when it is windy, you will save water from blowing away or evaporating, so wait till the wind dies down. Sweep your sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them down. Have a layer of mulch added to your beds, to preserve the moisture. Get your sprinklers adjusted so you are just watering the yard and not the concrete. Use drip irrigation hoses or soaker hoses to water deep on trees and shrubs. When you water your plants, do so deeply but not as often. This will encourage the root systems to grow deeper and help the plant to be more drought tolerant, Use watering cans for patio and front porch plants since hoses waste water.  Water only when the plants look like they need it. Many plants die from too much water rather than not enough!

 

Just a few tips to get your yard through this hot summer and save our water resource. For more ideas, go to TexasWatersSmart.com.