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Flourish Garden Blogspot

 

Waterwise Garden Design Tips :

Take the time to identify different areas in your garden that give you clues on where to situate plants with particular water requirements :

• Under the eaves of the house, the soil is often very dry.
• The bottom of a slope will be damper than the top!  It may seem obvious but many people forget.
• Walls and fences have a rain shadow, plant all plants at least 300mm from the bottom of the fence or wall.
• East and south facing sides of the garden will retain more moisture as they are shaded for most of the day.

 

Contour sloping garden areas to reduce surface run-off :

• Build terraces on very steep slopes.
• Some ground covers have a soil binding effect that will reduce run-off, like prostrate grevilleas and myoporums.
• Mulch will also slow down the run-off.

 

Group plants with similar water requirements together :

• Plants from Mediterranean countries ie. Lavender, rosemay, cistus, olive, like a well drained, fairly infertile soil and tolerate drought conditions.
• Plants from forest areas ie. Azalea, camellia, daphne, like cool roots, lots of compost and dappled shade.

 

Consider using indigenous plants :

• Indigenous plants have evolved to grow in our area, are suited to the soil and rainfall, so apart from some pruning, extra care is mimimal.

 

Lawns use up to 70% of garden water :

• Look at reducing the size of you lawn area.
• Consider using a more water efficient turf or native grass.  A native lawn is slower to germinate and requires a little more effort to establish but the long term benefits far out-weigh the inconvenience.

 

Gardens should be mulched at all times :

• It is one of the easiest thing you can do in a garden to save water.
• Mulching materials can include the following ;
• Leaf litter (one of the best & inexpensive options)
• Organic compost
• Hay or straw
• Bark or woodchips
• Stones or rocks (great for frosty areas)