It will take from 10 to 30 years before the water supply in Collin County gets any better. It took from 1957 (we need another lake) to 1988 (we got water) to complete Richland Chambers lake and the pipeline to Fort Worth. We should all consider some stage of water restrictions as the new normal here in North Texas. There is not much we can do about the speed of the process but we can adapt our landscaping for the situation.
Because of the on-going water restrictions, you may want to consider a “low water use landscape”. A low water use landscape doesn’t have to look like you live in Arizona. Think about replacing high water demand plants with well adapted and native plants, and you can have a beautifully landscaped yard that will survive the hot, dry climate of North Texas. The current focus should be on removing grass and adding beds. The key to success in all of this is proper plant selection for a given environment. It is trendy to go with native plants but not all natives look good in a landscape, unless you are going for the west Texas look. Some of the natives look like a tumble weed in the making so do some research instead of just jumping in. You can spend a small fortune on plants without the proper information. So the following links are good resources to start with. I highly recommend Neil Sperry’s Landscape Design School. The information you will receive at this class is beyond measure.
Arizona: http://www.houzz.com/arizona-%C2%B7-courtyard-%C2%B7-desert-landscape
Native Trees: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/
Native shrubs: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/
Neil’s 2014 Home Landscape School: http://neilsperry.com/store/neils-2014-home-landscape-school/
