The National Weather Service recently issued its Hydrologic Outlook for Western Nevada and Eastern California and even though we received a series of welcomed late winter storms in March and early April, the snowfall we received in the mountains was not enough to offset what the Weather Service describes as "a rather bleak situation." Due to years of drought and increasing water use, the forecast warns of "tight water supplies," "below average stream flows," "low reservoir storage values" and "low soil moisture." A series of April showers would make things more hopeful, but the reality of the situation seems to be more of the same: "Stream flows are likely to remain below to far below average for most of Nevada and the Eastern Sierra Nevada for a forth year in a row."

We can hope for a wet spring which would make things less drastic, but reason and the reality of our situation would suggest that we plan our gardens and landscapes according to drought conscious xeric principles. One such plan would be to catch some of the rain that does fall on and around our homes with rain barrels, such as the one pictured here.

When looking into the notion of xeric gardening, we found that Xeros, in Greek, means 'dry.' But, as a gardening logic, xeric means more than simply dry, it implies gardening and landscaping with plants that actually thrive in conditions that match the water and weather habits of the particular region where we live. So, the meaning is more about gardening and landscaping efficiently and in sync with an arid, low water environment.Ã?

Gardeners and landscapers that work with hardy plants that thrive in drought-like conditions don't have to fight against the elements in order to be successful. Not only do the plants thrive without much effort, but added benefits include little maintenance and reduced expense. This is one of the principle reasons why we specialize in drought-tolerant plants.

Read more about Xeric landscaping principles on our Xeric Landscaping page.