Saving Water In The Garden by Jonathan Ya'akobi

If you live and have a garden in a dry climate you'll know doubt be wanting to conserve water for the usual reasons such as the amount of water available to you per annum being severely restricted by the local authority; or water use being metered and very expensive; or you just feel bad about wasting water

The third reason may be the most admirable, but it shares something in common with the other two. They are all negatives. It's important of course to be aware of undesirable things, but the trouble with focusing on the negative is that we're liable to do things begrudgingly. "If only we had enough water, we could have acres of lawn", or "I wish my garden was a tropical paradise, but they won't let us use enough water".

Actually, I think there is a very real design reason for dry climate gardeners to make every effort to conserve this precious resource. Let's think of the "standard" suburban garden, with the lawn taking up most of the space, a thin strip left round the perimeter for a hedge, a flower bed, and a fruit tree or two. Considering the water needs of the grass, there's no way that water can be conserved. But who says that a garden should look like that anyway? Whether the garden is in Ireland, Thailand or Southern California, it's just dreadful design, if indeed the term "design" can be applied at all in these cases. I myself choose to look on the lack of water not as a liability to be regretted, but as an opportunity to break the mold, indeed to break the paradigm of the standard garden. The cliché is not something to hanker after, but something to be liberated from, and we dry climate gardeners have been blessed with the incentive to stop copying, and to start designing!

So what are the basic principles on which water conserving gardening is based? Obviously, the amount of water consumed is a function of the type of plants grown and the area they take up. For instance, in a typically Mediterranean climate of say 500 mm annual rainfall, with long hot rainless summers, a lawn is going to require at the very least, 700 mm of additional water. That is 700 liters per square meter a year. Add to that fruit trees and annual flowers and we're talking about a crazy consumption rate.

You've been told, no doubt, to "water by drip irrigation" or to "put on the sprinklers at night", or to plant plants that need "less" water. These instructions should not be confused with principles, for by simply obeying them, either you won't save significant amounts of water, or you will, and the garden will look extremely poor, unless that is, you have some systematic understanding of the subject, and are then able to apply that understanding to your garden. Here is an approach to water conserving gardening, that if applied correctly makes it possible to have a beautiful garden on the one hand, but one that consumes water within pre-determined limits on the other. These principles can be summed up as follows:

* Define in terms of quantity the annual water needs of each group of plants (lawn, shrubs and trees, flowers etc)

* Determine the projected water consumption of the garden. If it's a garden to be, then the design should take this into account.

* Group plants with similar water needs together (crucial)

* Design and set up an irrigation system that supplies the required water to the plants on the one hand, but at an applied rate, which allows the soil to absorb the water, on the other. The system should allow for independent watering schedules for different plant groups.

Calculate the quantities to be applied for each separate group, and for each separate watering, and then set the irrigation controller, or timer in accordance with the amount calculated.

* The use of techniques which do indeed reduce water consumption, such as organic mulches, or collecting rain water.

About the Author

My name is Jonathan Ya'akobi. I've been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I'd love to share my knowledge and experience with you. So you're welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com