Landscape

The Natural Landscape
Find out how to create a healthy landscape for a healthy environment. By using easy-to-follow practices you can help leave more water in the streams for fish and wildlife and reduce pollutant runoff caused by excessive irrigation and gardening chemicals.

Tips for a healthy lawn

Mulch mow your lawn. Set your mower height at 2-inches and leaving the clippings on the lawn. The clippings help retain moisture.
Wait to fertilize. Consider waiting to fertilize your lawn until autumn rains start again.
Improve water penetration. Help water penetrate by aerating your lawn. If you wish to over-seed, wait until fall.
Water wisely. When you do water, water deeply, but infrequently. Water only during the cooler hours of the day, between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. to avoid losing up to half of your water to evaporation.
Let your lawn go dormant. Consider letting your lawn go dormant. Water deeply only once a month to keep your lawn alive. To prevent runoff, you may need to water a short time, wait a few minutes, and then restart. Be sure to target your water on areas that receive heavy foot traffic - since dormant grass can be damaged by heavy wear.
Reseed in fall. Come fall, overseed any thin areas to bring back a lush lawn. Aerate, overseed, topdress with compost, and use a fall fertilizer to restore any areas that weathered the summer drought.

Use Natural Lawn Care. More tips on healthy lawns that protect the environment. (Hosted on Seattle Public Utilities Website)

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Tips for beautiful garden

Improve your soil Add compost throughout your planting areas.
Water your plants efficiently, Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation. Water deeply but infrequently- avoid frequent, light waterings that discourage healthy root development.
Mulch your plants Prevent evaporation, improve soil and reduce weeds.
Pick low-water plants When you buy plants this year, choose low water use plants for immediate beauty and future water savings. Like any newly planted plants, these plants will need routine water until they're established, which can be one to three years.
Group plants with similar water needs together. Avoid mixing plants that need regular water with those that need little to no water.

For information on rain barrels or cisterns please contact the Washington State University Cooperative Extension office at (206) 296-3900.

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