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Above: The Peace Garden
Just as we have faced a challenging winter this year with record cold temperatures, ice and snow, we are now dealing with a summer that has been well above average with high temperatures and below average precipitation.
Regardless of the cause, we are trending with more extremes in our climate. Our challenge has been to keep The Grotto green during these hot summer months, and that requires water, and in our case a lot of it. Without a well or other natural source of water, we must solely rely on the city water supply, which isn’t cheap.
We extensively use bark mulch where ever we can in our shrub beds and other garden areas where bare soil is exposed, the turf areas are another challenge where mulch is not an option. Other areas where water is an issue are our many water features. From the small rose garden fountain to our large Peace Garden, they all need occasional additional water to replace what is lost through evaporation. The Peace Garden water feature has been an exceptional challenge as far as water use. We have come to the point where a section has been shut down while we look at ways to reduce the water usage.
It has been pointed out to me by arborists, state forestry experts and landscape professionals that as time passes and we get hotter and drier, we will have to look at modifying our green spaces with more drought resistant plants and trees, and in some cases such as turf, replacing it with ground cover that doesn’t require continual irrigation. Water use is a big challenge nationwide, but almost daily I learn about new and improved ways to use and conserve our water supply.
Below: The greens of The Grotto.
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