By Caroline Hartmann, Intern at SAWS Conservation From backyard oasis to petite patio garden, any combination of potted plants will guarantee a fiesta, not a siesta. Updating your potted plants and containers for Fiesta celebrations? With the first warm days of an expected scorching summer, this is a good year to consider deploying hardy native plants. With the right selections they can provide a classic no-holds-barred “cascarones cracked all over the yard” color scheme — and may last well into the warm season with minimal water worry. When choosing plants for containers, the age-old advice i ..read more

With summer heat upon us and Stage 2 watering rules still in place, it’s best to hold off on putting in new sod. Summer will be here before we know it. While we’ve received wonderful rainfall lately, drought watering rules are still in effect because the Edwards Aquifer level has not increased enough to lift them. In fact, there’s a good chance Stage 2 watering rules will remain in place for all of 2024 based on current levels and the precipitation outlook. Considering the weather extremes over the past two years for San Antonio, many homeowners are still looking to replace grass sod or plants ..read more

Homeowners associations aim to maintain neighborhood standards, but they can’t legally require you to water your brown lawn or replace it. If you’re a homeowner in San Antonio, your community may be managed by a homeowners association or HOA. HOAs are always looking to maintain neighborhood standards and working with them to make landscape changes can be a complicated process. But if you’re receiving letters from an HOA requesting that you replace your grass, take a deep breath: they cannot legally require you to install, re-sod or irrigate turf grass. S.B. No. 198 Amendments to Section 20 ..read more

Wishing for a beautiful, fast-growing tree that’s free, needs zero irrigation and is a wildlife haven? Sounds too good to be true, but it does exist! Few things offer relief from the scorching Texas summer like the shade of a well-placed tree. But replacing an old tree can be a daunting task, requiring careful consideration of factors like species, growth rate and water requirements. What if there was a solution that checked all the boxes, offering beauty, fast growth, ecological benefits and low maintenance – and even came with free delivery and installation? Enter the sugar hackberry tree (C ..read more

From water conservation to composting to tree planting, the way you landscape at home can make a positive impact. The term “sustainability” can mean something different to each of us, but it all adds up and it’s all important! When you hear the word sustainability, what does it mean to you? There are many things we can do to help make our city more sustainable — and we can actually start at home. While that means something different to each of us, if we all move towards being sustainable in our own way, it all adds up, and it is all-important. Personally, moving towards being mo ..read more

You don’t need a green thumb to transform your water-guzzling landscape. Keeping your lawn resilient in times of drought doesn’t have to be difficult or costly. It’s as simple as parting ways with growing water-intensive landscape plants. For me, that was St. Augustine grass. I recently went on a mission to reduce my own water use and remove a portion of grass to install a drought-tolerant garden bed. It’s important to note that 1) I was not born with a green thumb and 2) this was my first attempt in removing grass and making a drought tolerant bed. With time I plan to expand this garden bed ..read more

Several little birdies told us just how tough — or not — our favorite drought-hardy plants really are. Gusty winds and chilly temperatures didn’t deter thousands of green thumbs (and their people) from celebrating the start of gardening season at our recent Spring Bloom event. Everyone was eager to shop for drought-hardy plants and glean expert gardening advice from local horticultural hotshots. But that’s not all they came for … Guests were also enthusiastic to share their struggles and triumphs with their own landscapes in July, August and September 2023 — the hottest summer ever recorded i ..read more

Weeds and winter grass are thick and plants are reemerging and blooming. But that doesn’t mean it’s time for full-scale watering. With recent showers, flowers and the first warm days of the year we’re seeing all the familiar indicators of spring in Central Texas. Your yard may be looking like spring is here too. Weeds and winter grass are thick and plants are reemerging and blooming. But just because it’s warm doesn’t mean you should water in March like you did last summer in July and August. If you’re watering with automatic irrigation you can definitely keep the seasonal adjust set to 50% in ..read more

Staying in town for spring break? Check out these spots to spy wildflowers and enjoy the great outdoors. By Dominique Silva It’s the time of year many Texans get excited for: Spring break. It’s a time for barbeques, get-togethers, beach trips, camping fun, vacations and staycations. Spring also signals the start of Texas wildflower season. Usually lasting from March through May, you’ll have plenty of time to prepare for photo shoots, sketching, painting or just to sight see. With more than 5,000 different wildflowers stretching across our state and many cities and highways to cross, it can be ..read more

Recent cool days remind us that it’s too early to turn on your irrigation system. If yours is on, remember we’re still in Stage 2 — be sure to adjust the clock one hour ahead on the controller. As we enter the growing season, it’s important to maintain proper irrigation by adjusting your system controller to accommodate daylight saving time. Most new controllers do this automatically, but older versions still require a manual adjustment. Newer models will automatically ask for time, date and year once daylight saving time kicks in, while older models will require you to remember to r ..read more