Below are some links to some local (and further afield) resources to help guide you to transform your outdoor spaces to water-wise, resilient landscapes. Note that some of the suppliers and articles recommend plants that won’t grow here (in addition to many that do). In Lethbridge, a zone 3 plant is hardy, a zone 4 plant will generally survive in sheltered (no wind exposure) areas that get good snow cover or are near building foundations, and a zone 5 plant is a tender perennial (it will not survive the winter).
Click here to download our list of nursery cultivars for our local native plants.
Local and southwest Alberta drought-tolerant landscape and plant resources:
Xeriscape: The Seven Principles of Water Conservation (City of Lethbridge)
Lethbridge Tree Guide (Helen Schuler Nature Centre)
Prairie Urban Garden (Oldman Watershed Council)
Prairie Urban Garden Xeriscape Priority List (Oldman Watershed Council)
Yardsmart Lawn Alternatives and Groundcovers (City of Calgary)
Gardening for Pollinators – Bumble Bees (Helen Schuler Nature Centre)
Gardening for Pollinators – Butterflies (Helen Schuler Nature Centre)
Pollinator Cafe Guide (Helen Schuler Nature Centre)
Bees in Lethbridge (Lethbridge Bee Enthusiasts)
Rain Barrels:
Rain Barrels: A How-to Guide for A Healthy Yard (University of Saskatchewan)
Installing a Rain Barrel for Beginners – Video (Alberta Urban Garden)
Rain Gardens:
Yardsmart Rain Gardens (City of Calgary)
Rain Gardens: A How-to Guide for Healthy Yards (University of Saskatchewan)
Constructing a Raingarden (Okanagan-Similkameen Rain Garden Guidebook)
Rain Gardens: Design, Implementation, Maintenance (Kelowna – KWL Consulting Engineers)
Other useful websites:
8 great groundcovers for zone 3 gardens (Salisbury Greenhouse)
40 shade loving perennials for zone 3 (Alberta Mamas)
The Spruce Gardening (The Spruce)
Dry Shade Tolerant Plants (Bluestone Perennials)
Grass Alternatives: 12 Low-Maintenance Lawn Replacements (Almanac)
Useful books in the Chinook Arch Library System:
Victory Gardens for Bees by Lori Weidenhammer: A great resource that offers garden plans (landscape and hardscape) to support pollinators, bee identification guide, and plant guides for northern gardens.
The Water-wise Home by Laura Allen: Includes steps of water-wise landscaping, basic rainwater collection, detailed greywater systems.
Creating Rain Gardens by Cleo Woelfle-Eskine and Apryl Uncapher: Detailed overview of how to safely construct rain gardens.
The Water-saving Garden by Pam Penick: Great overviews on terracing, permeable paving, watering tips, how to add shade to decrease water use, windbreaks, and “ripple zones” of the urban landscape. Note that it is focused on much warmer climates than Canada.
Gardening with Less Water by David A. Bainbridge: This a great book for annual vegetable growers! Covers all manner of low-tech ways to decrease water use in very dry gardens. Note that these techniques will not work for Canadian trees, shrubs, perennials due to freezing.
Creating the Prairie Xeriscape by Sara Williams: Great resource for common xeriscaping plants in Canada.
Native Plants for the Short Season Yard by Lyndon Penner: So local! The Helen Schuler is mentioned and all the plants listed can be grown here!
Water-Smart Gardening by Diana Maranhao: Some good ideas for designs (eye-candy) and for harvesting water on slopes but still very focused on landscapes and plants far south of us.