Apply these water-saving measures in your yard and garden.

The summer months are hard on municipal water supplies as families water lawns and fill their pools. With water restrictions common in drought-prone parts of the United States, you’ll want to apply some water-saving measures to be sure your yard and garden plants gets the water they need.

* Lay down cardboard with straw or other mulch over it to retain water, suppress weeds and provide a moist environment for your vegetables.

* Use a soaker hose or drip tape submerged in soil to carry water to roots before it evaporates.

* Install a rain barrel. Rainwater is a valuable resource, especially during dry summer months.

* Perennials have deeper roots and use less water. Xenoscaping--bushes, grasses and other flora native to your region--will be better adapted to surviving under local rainfall patterns. Xenoscaping may cost you a few hundred dollars but will return your investment many times over in a healthy garden and yard.