I bought a rain gauge for my garden a month ago and finally got enough rain to measure: almost two-tenths of an inch. That’s a big deal because Albuquerque averages only 9.4 inches of precipitation a year – compared to 36 inches in Chicago and 64 inches in New Orleans. This year we’re in a drought with only 3.44 inches by the end of the summer monsoon season.
Scarce water means that xeriscaping, or low-water gardening, is popular. Decorative gravel is more practical than big lawns, and drip irrigation systems pipe measured amounts of water to each individual plant. Because most Midwestern flowers and shrubs do not thrive here, I am learning high-desert horticulture and getting acquainted with native plants such as Russian Sage, Chamisa and Yucca.
One of the things I like about xeriscaping is that if there’s a spot where nothing grows, all you have to do is put a rock there. I bought more rocks last year.
I became a big fan of xeriscaping when the Navy stationed me in Albuquerque many years ago. I was the staff assistant to an Air Force colonel named Wild Bill, a hard charger who was bucking for general but did not have enough work to keep him fully occupied.
When the colonel had nothing to do he would make his presence felt in the time-honored way of senior officers: by raising hell and getting others to scurry around. At random intervals he would gaze out his office window and notice that the grass on the parade ground was turning brown. Then he would summon me and demand that I do something about it.
I initially had tried to explain to the colonel that grass was not really native to these parts, but he did not want to hear that. So I would call the maintenance department, which would dispatch a couple of guys with a hose to look busy for a while outside the colonel’s window. In the fullness of time, Wild Bill eventually was promoted to general and the Navy finally sent me to sea.
My yard is mostly xeriscaped but I have a tiny lawn, about 25 feet square, as an accent to all the gravel, rocks and shrubbery. I lost about a third of it this year because my sprinklers were not aligned properly. I briefly considered replacing it with $5,000 worth of artificial turf, but instead spent an arduous day putting down new sod and expect a hefty water bill this month.
Overall, however, I spend less time on outdoor maintenance here than I did with a smaller yard in Chicago. Smaller trees mean fewer leaves in the fall, lawn mowing is a snap and I squirt herbicide on whatever weeds poke through the gravel.
I drove through the military base the other day and noticed that the parade ground is still there. Now it has a sprinkler system.