Almost one-third of the water your family uses—some 100 gallons a day on average—ends up on your yard and garden, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Nationwide, more than 7 billion gallons a day go to landscape irrigation. If that weren’t problem enough, as much as half that water is wasted. It falls on sidewalks or evaporates into the air before it ever reaches the ground. With a few simple changes to the way you water, you can save a precious resource and lower your bills at the same time. To remember the steps to take, just use our handy acronym: DIRTS, which stands for drip irrigation, recapture, timers, and sensors.
You can fill your garden with color that will last through the sultry summer season. That's the word from a green-thumb who knows this area well: Kim Fogarty, manager of Blooming Colors Nursery and Landscaping in Grapevine. Here are the top 10 plants she recommends planting. Read more...
Lawn quality is generally measured in terms of color, density and uniformity. Cultural practices, particularly fertilization, largely determine lawn quality. A fertilization program should include timely fertilizer applications in amounts and formulations that meet the requirements of your lawn. Excessive nitrogen applications stimulate production of leaves and stems and increase the mowing requirements. Higher water requirements, increased thatch and increased susceptibility to insects and diseases also results from excessive application of nitrogen. Poor timing of fertilizer applications, such as mid-summer and early fall applications of soluble nitrogen, also increases the likelihood of chinch bug and brownpatch problems in St. Augustine lawns. Read more.....