The Oasis Habitat Restoration Process
It’s like Slow Food, but for plants. Enjoy the process — often referred to as “sleep, creep, and leap” — and in 3-ish years you’ll have a bountiful Oasis.
The first step is to create rain gardens to capture precipitation and to hardscape with mulch, river rock, and pavers. Depending on the time of year, we then plant seeds or seedlings.
In Year 1, your plants will “sleep .” Tiny plants will start to emerge. What lies beneath, however is far more interesting. The plants are putting most of their energy into establishing deep roots.
Native plants evolved to survive in harsh, low-water conditions. Roots can go as deep as 10-20 feet!
In Year 2, the plants will start to “creep,” as the subterranean roots nourish growth above ground.
In Years 3, the plants will “leap,” as they are well established and able to nourish themselves with water deep below the ground. (Though you should still water them when it’s hot for a prolonged period during the summer.)
