Good post.

I agree -- excellent!

I learned the value of drip irrigation under THICK mulch and will be working on installing some more lines this winter. I use a kitchen timer so the water isn't running any longer than needed. Also redid all the drip lines last winter to make sure water was going only to the plants that needed it and not to the whole bed.

Also learned how well Floratam St. Augustine does in sun and organic fertilizer with once a week deep watering of two inches. I tested the amount of water that comes from a sprinkler that puts out big drops on low pressure with a tuna fish can and set the timer for 20 minutes for each section of our small lawn that I water once a week. The Floratam we punched in last year spread quickly and may wilt a little before the end of the week, but stands right up lush and green with water. We have a sprinkler system, but so much of the water goes to the wrong places and/or simple evaporates up into the air that we don't use it.

I came to appreciate how much even most 'full sun' plants appreciate some light shade in the afternoon and planted a spreading open tree.

I learned that a lot of things do better in large pots that prevent the dry ground from sucking the water away.

Also began using a moisture meter to test whether things in pots actually need watering and also how deep the moisture goes in the lawn.

I found out that with careful use of the water inside and out the amount used can be reduced even as the heat and drought got worse.

I've mentioned several of these things before, and may think of other things later. Smiles ...

Excellent posts!

I really liked the part about setting realistic expectations about what will grow in our area. I am doing away with more and more of my grass, replacing with drought resistant ornamental grasses along with the natives that can withstand our heat.

I do have St Augustine grass in front, it takes more water; the Bermuda grass part I have hasn't been watered all summer, of course doesn't look good, but will green up quite quickly with the fall rains. I would love to replace it all with natives!

Very informative post.

I've learned to quit trying to grow gingers in full sun and to use more natives and drought tolerant plants. However, I wonder if those plants would survive a wet fall, winter or spring ...

Omar

A very good thought, Omar...........the truth of the matter is......we just cannot second guess MN.......She is still in control, and we just have to roll with the punches. We may not (or may, no way to tell) have another summer like this for years and as Omar pointed out, the drought tolerant plants can be lost to a very wet Spring or Winter.

Although the rain from last year's hurricanes caused a large agave in our rear poolside planter to die, I am still a firm believer in using native, drought-tolerant plants. As long as there is sufficient drainage in the soil, native plants will do fine regardless of the amount of rainfall.

Ty

I've learned to appreciate the liriope and gravel installed by the original owner's landscaper.

The liriope is still green and the gravel will cover the holes left by plants that didn't make it.

Good thoughts, and I totally agree.

What I've learned from this drought really doesn't even have anything to do with plants.

I've learned that trying to keep something alive takes more than water. It takes a lot of TIME, and it is expensive. And some of those plants really weren't worth the effort.

I've learned that I don't want to be a slave to my yard, and in the future I won't be. This revelation didn't come just from the drought, but also from having to find a nursing home for fil, which made me rethink my priorities.

I've learned that a landscape doesn't have to be just plants. It can be trellises, arbors, rocks, decks, and canopies.

Another odd thing I've noticed, is that (as far as I know) the houses in the neighborhood that have been getting regular watering around the foundation have had cracks in sheetrock, and other signs of movement. The houses where the people haven't watered a single time are reporting no cracks at all. That doesn't make sense to me and now I'm wondering if our house would have been better off if it had been dry all around it.

I have learned to not buy more plants in spring than I could possibly get through the worst of droughts.
Like someone taking more food than they are able to eat, my eyes are always seeing and wanting every plant.

I will never buy another fern in a hanging basket, and maybe never another fern at all. I may just give up baskets completely.

I learned why God made weeds.

To hold the soil together.

We didn't water this past year, and we got foundation cracks. I've been wondering how much water might or might not have helped the foundation. If anyone knows, please post. I don't seem to google the correct terms yet.

We are one of the last houses in our neighborhood to have had the cracks though, and yes, many, many other houses in the surrounding square mile have had cracks over the years. We do live on very expansive clay. Pennies for your thoughts?

All these years of drought and the heatwaves of 2009 and 2011 and the water restrictions...I've realized that it's time to simplify my life. Time to stop acquiring way too many plants and seeds. Time to really go xeriscape more...as much as humanly possible. Time to really respect the awesome power of nature...which can be gentle and enjoyable or...very unpleasant and destroy everything in sight. BTW, we're now in Stage 3 in my area...got a letter from the water company.

("I've learned that trying to keep something alive takes more than water. It takes a lot of TIME, and it is expensive... I've learned that I don't want to be a slave to my yard, and in the future I won't be.") - Marti

While I think it's great that many gardeners like to water every day (it's relaxing and it forces you to spend more time in your garden to enjoy it), I'd personally rather have the freedom to spend that time strolling or weeding or pruning or doing something else other than gardening entirely. I'd ideally like to water once a week or less. And if I want to go out of town for a couple weeks, I don't want to worry about things dying while I'm gone. I don't want a high water bill if I can avoid it. And I don't want a drought to mean that I have to become a slave to a garden hose every day for 6 to 12 months to try to keep all that investment alive. If Mother Nature doesn't need a garden hose or a sprinkler system or a high water bill to keep its lush Texas landscapes alive, why should I need to?

What I have learned from the drought:

I've learned, or actually been reminded, that I have a results driven personality. Hours and hours working in the garden every day is enjoyable. Watering everyday, is expensive, but I don't mind if the results are satisfying. If the results of all of this is just keeping plants alive, it's not satisfying.

I've learned that adequate moisture to the roots can't overcome a blowtorch to the foliage.

I've learned that, generally speaking, I don't care for most drought-tolerant, heat-resistant, native plants. I prefer lush growth and lots of blooms.

I've been reminded of how satisfying the results were, every time I completed a project in my woodworking shop.

I've learned that if this becomes the norm, my results driven personality will not be satisfied with the results.
Jim

We got a letter from the water company yesterday. We are in Stage II, voluntary, and we are supposed to water outside only on Tues & Fri, from 6pm to 10am.

I have learned about letting go and living life on life's terms in regards to my garden. IT is dead or dormant. Even my natives. My water restrictions are about how much money am I willing to shell out for trucked in water. The rainwater is gone. I am amazed that I made it 10 months on 5 " of rain. Today I go into defensive mode and I will be chopping most of it down since this weekend the drought shoved fear down my throat. The fire did get about 1 1/2 miles from me. I am trimming branches away from the house and trimming up 8 feet from the ground. I am looking at the wind that we get from our fall cool fronts with a certain amount of trepidation. La Nina is a beatch. I will start over with a cactus garden probably just in time for the floods.

I learned that cold turkey quitting gardening causes depression, pacing,loneliness, self doubt and a host of other maladies. I need to find a source of serenity in another manner.

:( Sorry, wantonamara...

Omar

Yes, Mara, very sorry..............don't know what I would be like if I could not spend time outside in my garden. It is therapy for me, and God grant that I may do this for the remainder of my days.

wantonamara

I tried to divert my gardening addiction to decorating in and around the house or working on some stained glass projects. Just not the same. To get my fix I still have to go water plants and grass even if they are not going to survive.

I learned I do not have to water as much and to water deep.We are in stage 4 can only water 1 time a week .I also am cutting back have been for a few years .I have fibro and lupus can not do what I used to .I have done a way from a lot of grass and am doing granet gravel and mex foun. grass .I will be doing gr. grav. in my front this winter lost my grass during the dr.I love gardening but I can only do so much.

Valid point, Jim.

Omar

i have learned... to use my neighbors water faucet while he is at work and especially out of town!

just kidding...

Mara, so sorry that this year has been so hard on your garden and you.

I've learned that having learned to garden in the Mojave Desert has helped a lot this year. I've learned that living on a 1/4 acre in the suburbs is much easier than the 2 acres in a rural area I thought I wanted. ( I stuck to the suburbs for the kids.) I learned that inground irrigation,works better at night when humidity is low even here in Texas ( I only watered at night in the desert) I learned when humidity is low my roses look better here too.
I pray for all the folks in these hideous fires. I know how you feel. I had ash "snow" fall on the house I grew up in more than once. My brother got burns on his legs in a desert fire behind my house. I've seen fire "jump" a freeway and start burning the other side. It's scary and I Pray we get rain soon.

We are taking defensive measures seriously. I am driving out in the burnt areas and seeing how things burned. That is my gardening now. My dead garden has to go. Even the live brush under the trees. I look at a lot of old homesteads and they had not much around their houses, maybe because of fire risks. It is interesting to look rationally at ones burnt garden and realize that change needs to happen and for a while I might not like the look of it. I am thinking "minimalist''.

I made my state of mind sound dismal, and at times I did feel it, but really during this summer I have been too busy to really focus on it for very long. I only really felt it when I went for serenity and got sadness. I will have to say that most peoples gardens out here look like mine, DEAD, so I am not alone in that regards.

I read a article and their point was about the difference on how people in the rural areas are feeling this drought so much harder than those in the cities and towns. I am really only in the EXburbs of Austin, but I can see the difference. Outside any ETJ, outside any water system, pipeline or town utility. That makes a huge difference. The faucet can run dry. To watch things implode and then explode, and to realize that you live with a firestorm ( cedar choked canyon) in your back yard pointed into the wind and you don't even have the water to fight the fire with. It is a wake up call. I have to let the old go expectations and goals go.

I learned that some things just cannot be saved regardless of how much water you put on the plant or how often. I have realized that I need a total re-think of what I have planted and a new system of watering what I may want to keep. I have also realized that there may come a time soon where we may not be allowed to spend the water on something as unimportant as flowers or shrubs even if we are willing to spend the time and money on it.

It will be rough and may finish off several trees and other natives if we have a cold, dry winter and another hot, dry summer for 2012.

Carla in Leander

wanton, fire burns based on humidity, wind direction, and the topagraphy of the land. They recommend a fire break, removal of highly flamable plants, and keeping plants and thier overhang away from the house. Personally, the homes I saw get burned the most were in an area that just attracted fire repeatedly, not unlike areas that tend to flood, the fire just kept coming back to that area no matter who did what, neglected landscaping (weeds,dry under growth especially trash), and homes with a lot of conifirs. The homes that did the best had a regular garden, with more or less flowery landscaping, with a green groundcover of some sort. (Clover,grass,flowers,lirope....) Sometimes tho, all hell just breaks lose and there is nothing anyone could do. For example, our local fire captain LOVED those mountains (they usually contained the fire before it hit the valley floor on either side of the range (Desert or "The Valley"). A really bad fire swept through one year and burned his house to the ground. He said it was worth the view and the privacy. Just some things to consider.

I don't have the water to make things green, so I guess I will just chop. Some crazy jerk lit a fire on the side of Pedernales river canyon right by Hammits crossing today. They got it out and have his license plate. They are out looking for him.

Darn!, scotty66, are you my neighbor?

Omar

lol... I doubt it. my nearest neighbor is about 500 feet away. so no stealing water.
Think my wife has been watering yard and trees all day. I don't even want to my water bill next month.

My old neighbor had a 2nd story a/c unit that constantly ran and had a constant water drip coming out of it (his electric bill must have been sky high). the grass where it dripped was always green. I tried to think of ways to irrigate my yard from that drip... but alas my yard was uphill (higher) than his.

Laughing with you Scotty and Omar!

The city used to have a water faucet on an small island by my house. I guess it was to water the Spanish oak trees there occasionally. My neighbor across the street used to hook up his water hose to it to water his lawn. I guess the city caught on because they removed it, and the neighbor moved.

Now my next door neighbor hooked up several of her hoses, dragged them across the street, and watered the trees since they have dead and dying limbs. You can't save them all, but those within reach can be saved with just a little extra water. I'm amazed at how many people are letting the trees in their yards die. It will cost way more to pay to have them taken down then to give them a little water.

I wondered about that too Roselee. Watering isn't cheap but you gotta at least keep the foundation plantings, the foundation and your shade tree alive. Otherwise you'll NEVER have shade and your house will look barren and goofy.

"I've learned that adequate moisture to the roots can't overcome a blowtorch to the foliage." Well said, BossJim!

I've learned that too. In my yard just south of I-20 the altheas, desert willows, crape myrtles, and antique roses have done just fine with irrigation. I guess they are the plants that can withstand the blowtorch heat. In fact, the altheas, crape myrtles, and desert willows never missed a beat blooming. The OGRs haven't bloom for most of the summer, but survived well. Lou

merrybookwyrm ; I don't want to steel the thread with this so please e-mail me your questions on foundation watering with your e-mail address and I will be glad to respond.

What I have learned is the true meaning of evapotranspiration. Along with the drought it has been nearly impossible to keep anything alive that was newly planted. The wind has sucked the life out of most everything. I have learned to group plants by the way they use water by deep roots. I have learned how plants conserve water by type of leaf. I have learned how some plants go dormant and come back when water is available. I have learned how important it is to have organics mixed into the soil. I have mostly learned that planting anything this year was a waste of money unless you are willing to hand water almost daily. I have learned how to install a grey water irrigation system. I have learned that the amount of fertilizer normally put out is to much in drought.
Most of all I am learning I have a lot more to learn.

Hi all, I learned not to even bother with most vegetable gardening until fall! I I have learned to water deeply and infrequently. I have leaned to love volunteers,and roses. I have started research on natives...I guess you could say, have not learned as much as I am in the process of learning.
MBG