It’s essential to look for every day ways to conserve water, for the sake of the environment as well as for the sake of the budget. Landscape plantings, lawns and gardens must have water to survive and thrive, making water conservation and a thriving landscape seem to be incompatible. They’re not. There are many things that can be done to conserve water in the landscape, and here are ten water conservation tips that will promote both healthy, thriving plants and water savings.
- Start with the soil in the landscape and garden. Improving the quality of the soil by adding organic matter like compost will enable the soil to soak in and retain moisture.
- Make the landscape design eco-friendly by designing it to conserve water naturally. Plant taller shrubs and trees to provide windbreaks and afternoon shade to the landscape plantings and garden so less soil moisture will be lost through evaporation.
- Group plantings according to their water needs when designing a landscape. Those that require the most water should be planted near each other to utilize any water run-off and it will save time when water also.
- Choose plants that are drought tolerant and can survive on the average amount of rainfall received in your region. Newly planted trees, flowers and garden plants will need to be watered frequently until they are established and during of prolonged drought, but many plant species are drought tolerant once they are established and go for several without a drink of water.
- Native plants have already adapted to their particular region and weather conditions. Choosing to plant natives trees, shrubs and flowers will help conserve water in the landscape.
- If some high maintenance, moisture-loving plants are desired in the landscape, plant them in the landscape areas that are most visible. This will give the most impact for the time, effort and water usage required to maintain them.
- Add a layer of organic mulch around all trees, shrubs, flowers and garden vegetable plants to retain soil moisture. Mulching also helps prevent moisture-robbing weed growth.
- Allow the lawn grass to grow to it’s tallest recommended height between mowing. When grass is allowed to grow tall, it forms deep roots to sustain the grass height, the deep roots will enable the grass to survive periods of drought better.
- During times of drought, allow the grass to go dormant. The grass will spring back to life and green up as soon as it receives some rain.
- Catch and recycle rainwater from downspouts to water landscape and garden plantings. Rainwater can be collected for recycling in any water tight container from an elaborate rain barrel system to a simple dish pan placed under the downspout.
It is doable to conserve water and have a thriving green landscape and garden. Start with amending the soil then plant groupings of drought tolerant native plants, add mulch and let the grass grow. Water as needed with recycled rainwater.