Add to the list asters, butterfly bush, yuccas and nepeta or catmint. The master gardeners had to send off to New Mexico for starts for the xeriscape since many were not available locally. Bauer added that public education is the biggest barrier to accepting xeriscape. We need that water to keep flowing to the ocean for the whole process of evaporation and rain. The problem has come from people wanting yards like they knew in rainier areas.
Most homes have way more lawn than necessary, and lawns are major consumers of water.
Xeriscaping may not be as green or wet, Bauer said. Nor, added Zundel, will it look like an English perennial garden. But both predict it's the wave of the future as communities face the reality of limited water supplies. A New Mexico man who is considered an expert on xeriscape will be the keynote speaker for the state conference of Master Gardeners Oct. 6-8 at Wenatchee Valley College. His company offers many of the hardy plants suitable for arid climates like Wenatchee's.