Low Water Landscapes

Living in a desert is hard, let’s face it. Because precipitation is so low, there are very real biological limits on how much biomass a given area can support. If you’ve ever lived in the Pacific northwest, or the deep South, or in a tropical rainforest, you have seen that in real life. Where there is water, there is life; where water is abundant, life is abundant. Where water is scarce, however – well, that’s where we live!

Responsible stewardship of our natural resources means being smart about what we try to grow in our landscapes. It also means being smart about how we water those things we do grow. For example, the typical turf lawn uses a lot of water, doesn’t provide many ecosystem benefits, and uses sprinkler irrigation which can be very wasteful if not maintained well and if run during windy conditions. In New Mexico, wind is a given!

While most trees are not true desert plants, they can provide so many benefits that they are worth the water it takes to grow them. Anything we can do to make the landscape more tree-friendly increases the efficiency of the water we irrigate with. Getting rid of hot gravel mulches is a great start; replace those (and the fabric weed barrier underneath) with arborists wood chips over bare dirt. Reducing the heat around the tree reduces the amount of water it needs to transpire in order to keep cool. Legacy Tree Company specializes in rehabilitating hot landscapes around trees.

Contact us to find out why we are considered the best tree service in Albuquerque.