McKinney proposes drought-tolerant landscaping

Arid climate trends may spur change in suburban scenery

by PegNews wire

North Texas municipalities including Corinth, Rockwall, McKinney and Frisco are planning for a drier future by enacting policies to foster planting and cultivation of native and other drought-tolerant plants.

It's not rocket science: lesser rainfall amounts, such as the region has experienced this year (and may very well continue to experience), mean that precious reservoir water needs to be used less to satisfy thirsty ornamental shrubbery and more to fill the ever-increasing number of drinking glasses, bathtubs and low-flush toilets of area residents.

McKinney city officials are considering teaming with A&M's Texas Agricultural Experiment Station to (among other things) come up with a suggested list of less-consumptive plants that they can recommend to developers.

Water quality, as well as quantity, also becomes a factor, because native plants and grasses require fewer pesticides to thrive.

For the short term, we can look to the local forecast and cross our fingers.

Further details are here.

posted by John