Optimizing Your Garden for Drought or Water Conservation

Living in Colorado and being a gardener has been quite stressful in the past few years, as this state has been undergoing a rather stern drought. The city is impressive watering restrictions which are not giving enough water to lawns and plants. I’ve had to renovate my garden to make it more water efficient. Now, because of the techniques I’ve employed, I’m the only one in my neighborhood with a garden that isn’t completely brown. So if you live in an area that is going through a drought or if you just want to save water, I suggest you use some of these techniques as well.

First, I took out all my plants. The soil I was using didn’t maintain water very well, so I had to water twice as much as necessary in order to get it to actually soak-up into the roots. If you have this same problem, you can fix it by loading the soil up with lots of compost. This not only prevents water from escaping, but encourages the plant’s roots to be healthy and able to survive more. Optimize the soil for low water consumption plan.

Once I was done optimizing the soil for my new low water consumption plan, I was ready to replace all my plants. I decided that the placement of all my plants would reflect the amount of water necessary to keep them alive. All the plants that don’t require much water I placed in on one side of my garden, and then just progressed in the amount of compulsory water to the other side of the garden. As a result of my new arrangement, I don’t have to waste water on plants that don’t need it as much.

Drip irrigation system is reduced the amount of water

Drip irrigation system was another part that reduced the amount of water. I needed to fully water my garden. The great thing about these systems is that they constantly drip into your plants, so that every single drop is absorbed. With traditional watering systems, usually the roots get too overwhelmed with the sheer amount of water in the soil. Thus, lots just seeps right past. This is all taken care of with the drip system.

You need more water than you can supply to your garden, you might consider which plants you could replace with less water dependent plants. If you want a good plant that doesn’t use up more than its share of water, look for Heavenly Bamboo. It is not only tolerant of droughts, but looks rather ornamental in any garden. Herbs such as rosemary are useful in preparing meals, and are rarely thirsty.

If you’re trying to find some flowers that will still be verdant and beautiful despite the lower amounts of water, look for penstemon varieties like Apple Blossom, Moonbeam, Garnet, and Midnight. Also you can attract butterflies and hummingbirds with varieties like Yarrow and Cosmos. The best part about all these plants is that they don’t look rugged and withstanding, but they sure are. Your neighbors wont be saying “Look at them, they downgraded their plants just to withstand the drought. Instead they will be marveling over how you keep your flowers so beautiful in the middle of the watering regulations.

A lavender plant is one of my favorite drought resistant plants. I could go on for pages about it. A big group of Lavender plants looks unbelievably attractive in your garden, and hardly requires any water to flourish. Another personal favorite is Pineapple sage. It is a Two+ foot bush that smells oddly of pineapple. It’s another major attracter of hummingbirds, and the leaves are also useful to add taste to munchies.

I suggest you try some of things are mentioned above, if you’re dealing with a drought. Even if you’re just trying to conserve water or be generally more efficient with it, I think you’ll still be able to benefit.