Xeriscaping

The recent rains have helped our plants and the aquifer. The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD) is responsible for monitoring the health of our groundwater, the source of the water coming from our taps.

Their mission is “to conserve, preserve, recharge and prevent waste of groundwater within western Hays County. In support of the District’s mission, we provide educational materials and information about our water resources. To help accomplish these goals the District is charged to gather information needed for sound decisions, to provide information to citizens and local agencies, and to ensure that groundwater is used efficiently and at sustainable rates.”

HTGCD considers education outreach an important part of their job. If people know how to curtail their water usage our water resources will be sustainable. This year they have initiated a Water Wise Speaker Series designed to inform the public.

What does this have to do with Keep Wimberley Beautiful? Landscaping with native and other low water usage plants is a good way to curtail the water you use. I gave one of the talks in the series on xeriscaping (landscaping with plants that use little water). If you want to see pictures of native plants that grow in Central Texas you can go to xeriscape 2020.pdf (haysgroundwater.com). At the moment Engelmann’s daisy, Blackfoot Daisy, Damianita, Mealy Blue Sage, Zexmenia, Indian Blanket (Gaillardia) and Mexican Primrose are blooming and these are all pictured in the pdf file mentioned above. You will need to scroll down through the introduction to see the photos.

While you are at Water Wise Speaker Series « Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (haysgroundwater.com) you can see some of the other informative talks that will be given in this Water Wise Speaker Series.

Written by Jackie Mattice, Hays County Master Naturalist