Do you use too much water in your garden? Unfortunately, many homeowners do waste this natural resource, which could be put to better use. However, by making some small changes you can conserve a large amount of water each year and still have a garden that looks amazing. Below are some of the main ways you can achieve this balancing act of doing your bit for the planet and still managing to have a garden area that you can be proud of.
Choose Attractive Plants and Flowers That Don’t Use as Much Water
Research is key when you want to find ways to reduce your garden’s dependence on water. Some tree, plants and flowers use less water than others. Sowing these types of trees, plants and flowers will quickly reduce the need to water them on a regular basis while still being able to flourish.
Add Mulch
Sometimes you need to look for natural ways to keep water in the ground in your garden and adding mulch is one of the most effective ways to this. Mulch adds a natural look to flower beds and areas where you want to keep the soil below moist.
Rain Barrels
Harvesting the water that falls from the sky is an obvious, yet often overlooked way to reduce the need to turn on the taps or sprinklers in your garden. Rain barrels in particular, come in a wide range of stylish and attractive forms and can add a distinctive look to any home.
Lawn Care
According to lawn care expert Jim Gathers from LawnStarter Minneapolis, lawns are one of the biggest culprits when it comes to water consumption in a modern home. The warmer your location is and the larger your lawn is, the more water you need. However, if you don’t want to reduce the size of your lawn, there are always ways you can prevent it from requiring huge amounts of water all of the time.
For instance, you could use a local lawn aerator service, that leads to much more efficient water usage. The process of aeration allows water to reach the roots of the grass in your lawn, so that less water evaporates or is prevented from flowing to the places it’s needed the most.
Reduce the Area that Needs to Be Watered
In some homes, the outside area of these homes has a lot of areas that needs to be watered on a constant basis. However, if you reduce the area that needs to be watered, you could save hundreds of gallons of water every year. For instance, instead of having a huge lawn area, you could add a patio, pathway and other features that don’t need to be tended to all of the time.
Avoid Evaporation
There’s very little point watering a lawn, plants or flowers if this water evaporates a short time later. However, millions of homeowners make this mistake because they water their gardens at the wrong time of the day. Instead of watering your garden at the hottest times of the day when water is certain to evaporate, water at cooler times of the day when you know the water you apply will remain.
Plant Certain Plants Close Together
As mentioned earlier, some plants and flowers are thirstier than others. If you really want to keep some of the species that consume more water, it may be a good idea to plant these plants closer together and water them in a small space, so that they don’t deprive other plants of the water they need.
Identify the Patterns of the Sun in Your Garden
The position of the sun at certain times of the day can affect moisture in the soil and lead to more evaporation in certain areas of your garden at certain times of the day. You should try to identify the sun’s patterns in your garden and plant flowers, plants, shrubs and trees that require less water in areas that are most affected by the sun each day. Flowers, plants, shrubs and trees that require more moisture and watering should be located in areas that have more shade and don’t get as much exposure to the sunlight.
Use Common Sense
Common sense should prevail when you want to conserve water in your garden. Simple things like preventing leaks, turning off dripping taps, taps being turned on unnecessarily, preventing overflowing water containers and excessive use of sprinklers are all obvious, yet overlooked problems that cause huge amounts of water to be wasted each year.
Saving water and maintaining an amazing garden is not an impossible task. Some simple research and the willingness to find ways to conserve water can make a huge difference and still allow you to have a garden you can be proud of.
