Earlham College
Tier2-4: Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping is used on a total of 15 buildings. Earlham College follows the practices of Xeriscaping throughout its campus buildings and grounds. From www.eartheasy.com there are 7 practices of Xeriscaping. 1. Reducing the use of water: Each plant is chosen for the location of the building with regards to the direction and the sun. Mulch is used routinely, and no irrigation system is in place we water by hand only when necessary. 2. Soil improvement: we use cow manure and peat moss while planting the chosen flowers, mulching each year to retain the soil quality, and choose organic fertilizers when necessary. 3. Create Limited turf: with a campus as large as we are we have a hard time creating limited turf area however we do plant trees and have a large amount of trees on campus to help with the area and create a canopy. We also mulch the leaves during the fall to help promote the soil. 4. Choose the right plants: We try to us drought friendly and native hardy plants wherever possible we use natural grasses, succulents, Native plants, and wildflowers along with conifers to create a show of color for each building. While choosing annuals we use marigolds, 5. Mulch we use several tons of mulch per year to all our areas of landscaping. It is applied at least 3 inches thick and placed around all plants to help keep in moisture. We use mulch from a wholesale dealer in Indiana 6. Irrigate: we only hand irrigate when necessary. 7. Maintain your landscape: we have a crew that constantly maintains the landscaping of the college. In drought conditions we do not mow the grass and let it grow and we weed regularly by hand or by low grade chemicals. Other comments: while construction is involved on campus we try to maintain areas of top soil from being removed and put into place erosion control barriers. We buy our plants from reputable dealers that field raise their plants. On steep slopes we try when possible to leave natural or plant erosion controlling plants. Our mowing height is around 2-3 inches and we do not pick up the clippings but let lay to decompose back into the ground. And when at all possible we use IPM to deter pests from becoming a problem.