Gardens That Take Care of Themselves

This article was written after the forest fires in Tennessee burned in 2016.

How will your yard survive a drought?

Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- August 2016

Nov. 30, 2016

First, let me tell you my inspiration for this post...  My thoughts this morning are on Tennessee and the Gatlinburg area in particular. I love this place. The photos coming from this area right now are devastating. My in-laws previously lived in Asheville North Carolina for close to 20 years so my family has spent lots of time in the Smokies. In recent years we've spent a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Gatlinburg. If you haven't been, you really should go. It's an easy 6 hour drive from Indy -- we go several times a year. I have said on many occasions that my favorite place I've ever been (and I've been fortunate to travel a lot of places all over the country) is the Cades Cove area in the park. It totally immerses you in our natural world, What a beautiful place.

Just 3 1/2 weeks ago was our most recent trip to Gatlinburg and the fires were burning in Tennesee already. We drove through smoke most of the time we were in Tennessee. On our trip we stayed in the Park Vista hotel which just two days ago was surrounded by fire so much that the guests and staff couldn't get out. (There is frightening video on the internet of this.)  Now I understand that forest fires happen naturally (update -- unfortunately this fire was man-made). It's part of nature's rejuvenation process. But the drought the south has been experiencing has literally fueled this fire.

So to get to my point, this got me thinking... do you remember our drought of 2012?  What did we learn from it? Of course most of us never need to worry about the loss of life and property that comes from forest fires, but we are all affected by drought. We can at least protect the investment we've made in our yards.

Here are some ways you can drought proof your yard:

Native coneflower and black-eyed Susan

Plant plants that need little water.

So when you read that, do you think of cacti and other plants of the Southwest? That's not what I'm referring to! I'm taking about good ole' native Indiana plants. They bloom and thrive without any additional watering from us and are prepared for the occasional drought. They may go dormant for awhile but will survive. There are so many beautiful native plants! And think about it this way, even in normal conditions many plants need supplemental water from us -- native plants do not and actually save us from using water!

The blooming plants in the foreground of this photo are planted
in a bog garden.

Utilize plants that water themselves.

From our native plants that use little water, let's talk about plants that grow in water. During the drought of 2012, we still had beautiful plantings in our ponds! They bloom and grow no matter how much rainfall we have. Our yard at home has an area that is particularly sandy for whatever reason -- not normal for our area which is usually hard clay. So we have trouble getting anything to grow consistently in this area -- even native plants.  Because of the sandy soil, any water drains though quickly whereas clay soil holds water. We're considering installing a bog garden in this area. What's a bog garden? For this purpose we will dig a shallow area, line it with pond liner, fill it with river rock and water and plant aquatic plants in it. Problem solved -- no watering and no excess draining!

Remove your lawn.

WHAT?! Yep, I said it. Grass is a water hog. We senselessly water it. We mow it with lawn mowers that put more emissions in the air than our cars. We use chemicals on it. And it serves no biological purpose -- plants feed wildlife critters and insects (which also feed the critters.) Typical lawn doesn't feed anything. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be removed all at once! Remove a little at a time for planting areas, rain gardens, bog gardens, or prairie plantings. All more beautiful that lawn. (This is coming from someone who hasn't had any lawn for many, many years! I don't own a lawn mower.)


Think about it... what can you do to prepare for the next drought we experience in our area? Let's be proactive instead of re-active. Start making plans now to have a more ecologically friendly and drought resistant yard. It's good for you and it's good for our environment.

For now my thoughts and prayers are with the people of all the fire damaged and drought affected areas of our country.

For more on our drought in 2012, you might want to read our previous articles written by Steve.
The Drought's Almost Over, Now What Part I
The Drought's Almost Over, Now What Part II
The Drought's Almost Over, Now What Part III

If you're interested in having a more drought-proof landscape, meet with our project manager.

Written by Staci Wicker
Cool Ponds co-owner