The first thing anyone will tell you about gardening in Texas is that it is tough. The heat is hotter there, and the drought is drier Getting things to grow can be taxing, let alone pulling together a cohesive garden design. But this is the land of rawhide, barbed wire, and Pecos Bill, Hard-nosed solutions to unforgiving conditions are the norm, and Texas gardeners are always ready to adapt. Gardeners are increasingly choosing materials that reduce maintenance and make the rugged environment more hospitable for plants "I'm seeing a greater use of gravel and less reliance on lawn," says Jill Nokes, a landscape architect from Austin "Things like to grow in gravel here," she says, "and native limestone is cheap and plentiful." Used as a ground cover ormulch, gravel conserves soil moisture, doesn't need mowing, and looks natural in the landscape.
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