Xeriscape guidelines adapted to residential gardens in Cyprus

Abstract

One of the major problems that my country, Cyprus, faces is water scarcity. In the last five to ten years, the problem has become more serious because of a series of droughts that have left the island with limited water. As a result, Cypriots keep their gardens to a minimum or they abandon their gardens due to water shortage. This attitude of Cypriots toward their gardens was the inspiration of this thesis topic. The idea of Xeriscape and the seven guidelines of Xeriscape that were first introduced and organized by the Denver Water Department in Colorado are directly related to water conservation and landscaping, which is the focus of this thesis. First, I researched books, articles, and the Web on related topics with water conservation and landscaping in the United States and in Cyprus. After that, I did interviews with professional and non-professional Cypriots on related topics with water conservation in gardens. Based on this research and interviews, I tested the Xeriscape guidelines, which originated with the Denver Water Department, to see how they work in Cyprus. I used two sites of Cyprus as case studies to evaluate these guidelines. According to this testing of guidelines on case studies, I adapted the Xeriscape guidelines to Cyprus. The cultural environment of Cyprus, which is different than in the United States, affects how I adapted the guidelines. Also, the natural differences in Cyprus affect the application of the guidelines. In addition, graphic and other informative data are included in my own guidelines to provide a more detail explanation of important terms related with Xeriscape.