What is a Waterwise Garden and Why is it Important?
A waterwise garden is an approach to gardening that conserves water, reduces the amount of water needed to keep plants healthy, and reduces the time it takes to maintain a garden.
This type of low maintenance gardening has gained significant popularity in recent years. If you are looking for ways to save both your money and natural resources then this might be the perfect approach for you.
Water Saving Techniques for Your Garden
There are many plants and shrubs that can be kept alive without much watering by using the following techniques.
- Mulching to control weeds and retaining ground moisture
- Planting drought tolerant plants
- Creating a compost pile to recycle organic waste
- Hydrozone your garden
Mulching
Mulching is a great way to improve your garden. It is a natural practice that helps to conserve water, prevent erosion and weed growth, and keep soil at the perfect temperature for better plant growth.
Landscaping Mulches
For landscaping purposes around shrubs, plants and trees, woodchip and bark based mulches are very good. These types of mulches look good, last a long time, allow water to pass through and can handle foot traffic. Over time, they break down providing nutrients for the soil.
Veggie Garden Mulches
Straw is an excellent mulch for veggies and more delicate plants. They are various types but essentially straw is light weight, easy to position in and around the plants and breaks down nicely over the season to provide good nutrients to the soil. Straw is basically the lower part of a plant after the head is harvested so you can buy pea straw, lupin straw, wheat straw, barley straw etc. Pea straw can be softer to handle and position around plants.
Drought Tolerant Native Plants
Drought tolerant native plants are the key to healthy soil in any garden. They require little or no watering because they’ve evolved to adapt to less than ideal conditions like dry soil, hot temperatures and irregular rainfall.
Here are some that are perfectly suited for Perth and down south:
Groundcovers
- Southern Blechnum Banksia
- Dampiera
- Mondorup Bell
- Grivillea ‘Star Burst’
- Grevillea tenuiloba
Shrubs
- Dwarf Agonis
- Native Hibiscus
- Bottlebrush ‘Little John’
- Egg and Bacon Plant
- Chenille Honey Myrtle
Strappy Leafed Plants
- Kangaroo Paw
- Native Iris or Purple Flag
Trees
- Ashby’s Banksia
- Eucalyptus ‘Snow Queen’
Composting
Composting takes a bit of effort to set up and do regularly but the rewards are many. The two big benefits are:
- Natural way to recycle organic plant and plant-based food waste
- Delivers much needed nutrients to your soil
Depending on where you live and the space you have, there are a few different ways to compost. For those with a good sized garden, simply making a contained pile of compost that you turn regularly can do the job. However there are composters available that are enclosed with lids and these can reduce any smells, deter rats and also create extra warmth needed to help compost.
These composters range from a simple plastic drum with lid to others with barrels that spin around with the turn of a handle.
Hydrozone Your Garden
Hydrozoning essentially means planning your garden into zones depending on plant groups water needs. For larger gardens you could set up different reticulation settings for each zone so as to ensure no water is wasted and plants only get what they need.
- Primary zone – plants and veggies that require daily water and attention
- Secondary zone – plants and grass that need around 2 days of watering per week
- Minimal zone – established native plants and succulents that require almost no attention
Outdoor Blinds
We love getting the best out of our gardens and hope you’ve found this waterwise garden information useful. There’s nothing better than sitting on the patio and enjoying the view.
At A&A, we specialise in the supply and installation of Ziptrak blinds, which are perfectly suited to enhancing your outdoor living spaces. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a more info and free quote.
