Suburbitat, Water, and Why We Will Keep Planting
“...humans now occupy or have seriously altered nearly all of the spaces outside our parks and preserves. Each of us carries an inherent responsibility to preserve the quality of earth's ecosystems. When we leave the responsibility to a few experts (none of whom hold political office), the rest of us remain largely ignorant of earth stewardship and how to practice it. The conservation of Earth's resources, including its living biological systems, must become part of the everyday culture of us all, worldwide.”
― Douglas W. Tallamy, Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
Denver declared a Stage 1 drought.
Water restrictions are here. Conversations are shifting. And a lot of people are asking the same question:
Should we even be planting right now?
This weekend, I caught Jim Tolstrup at the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), The High Plains Environmental Center exists to restore natural ecosystems within the suburban environment through the use of native plants. Jim was in the middle of spring clean-up and I pestered him with questions. He was gracious about it.
Jim is the executive director at HPEC and has spent decades thinking about how to preserve native biodiversity in the middle of development. His work has taken him from Maine to Texas to Colorado (lucky us!!)
We talked about water, like everyone is right now.
And he said, simply:
“We are always in a drought. The answer isn't to stop planting, it's to keep installing the right kinds of landscapes."
Not in a drought, like it’s temporary. But always in one, because that’s what it means to live here.
If drought isn’t the exception, then the answer isn’t to stop planting.
It’s to plant differently.
In his book Suburbitat, Jim writes about restoring native plant communities where people already live, yards, parks, schools, business fronts. Not as an aesthetic choice alone, but as a way to rebuild functioning ecosystems. Places that support pollinators, birds, soil life. Places that hold water instead of losing it.
Planting now is not a waste of water.
It’s how we stop wasting water.
Traditional turf and conventional landscapes will keep demanding more than Colorado's climate can give. We’re already seeing it, more stress, more inputs (water/fertilizer/gasoline/time/effort), more decline. Native landscapes, on the other hand, ask for care up front… and then give back for years.
We also spoke this week with Austin Krcmarik at Denver Water, who confirmed that even under the current Stage 1 drought declaration, new plantings are still allowed. Denver Water is developing a web form to allow exemptions for new plantings, and supplemental irrigation, including hand watering after the exemption period remains allowed.
This kind of planting isn’t the problem, it’s part of the solution.
Typically new native garden installs need supplemental irrigation during the first one to two years. Denver Water’s Xeriscape Plant Establishment Guidelines recommend watering every 3–7 days in the first season and every 7–14 days in the second, focusing on deep, infrequent watering. Fortunately, current two-day-per-week watering restrictions are well-suited to these drought-tolerant and well-adapted plants.
By year three, most of these landscapes only need water in extended drought. Not constant input, just support when it’s truly needed. Plants that evolved on this land work with this place instead of against it.
So no, we’re not pausing planting this season. We’re doubling down, we are busier than ever. Because if we want landscapes that can handle what’s coming, less predictable water, hotter summers, longer dry spells, then this is the moment to build them. We have no time to waste.
Here’s to planting for what comes next.
