A YardSmart yard stays beautiful longer during hot and dry weather compared to yards completely planted with grass. The City’s YardSmart program provides helpful resources that show you how to plan, build, and maintain your yard, including:
- Layouts and plant lists for all over your yard – wet, full sun, partial sun, and shade areas.
- Easy to follow information on planting, watering, and maintenance.
- How-to videos including how to garden on a budget and creating a pollinator-friendly yard.
Remember, new plants need lots of water to get established, especially during the heat of summer. You can do your part to reduce your water consumption and help your yard and garden retain moisture by:
- Installing a rain barrel to use in your yard and garden. It is a simple, yet effective way to reduce your water use by acting as a backup source of water.
- Only giving plants the water they need.
- Mowing less often to keep your grass five to seven cm (two to three inches) high to shade the soil.
- Replacing portions of your lawn with garden features that use less water and help absorb rainwater such as low water-use perennials and shrubs, lawn alternatives, or groundcovers.
- Adding good quality soil to help retain moisture and mulch on top to reduce evaporation.
To learn more about how to create a beautiful, resilient yard and garden that uses less water, visit calgary.ca/YardSmart.
