Saving Water in the Garden - How Conserving Water Can Make Good Design Sense
Does the attempt to save water in the garden have to be at the expense of a decent landscape design? A common view held by many is that there is indeed a contradiction between the two. The implication is that having a great garden entails the massive use of water, hence the marketing of artificial lawn as "substitute grass", whereas in reality it is a plastic, green sheet.
The water crisis prevailing in dry climates, from Australia, California, and the Middle East, e.t.c. is forcing gardeners to cut back radically on their water consumption. Many of us can call ourselves lucky by having any water at all available for the garden. What then should be our approach, our mindset, our attitude?
Should the dry climate gardener wear a scowl of discontent and frustration, bemoaning her misfortune in living where she does? I think this is mistaken. On the contrary, the imperative to save water opens up many fresh design possibilities, leading to a more satisfying, better-balanced garden composition. As the personal development gurus tell us, "seek the opportunity hidden in the problem".
As the two principle water guzzlers in the garden are lawns and flowers, here are a few examples showing how they can be integrated into a garden design that is both beautiful and modest in its water use.
Obviously, the area set aside for a lawn has to be greatly reduced. The common clich of a massive lawn with a strip of plants around the perimeter is in any case, simply poor design. Is the proportion between the two spaces, i.e. the lawn and the garden beds, a correct one? Of course it isn't. Instead, a smaller lawn and a correspondingly larger bed for shrubs and sculptural plants, is better balanced while creating more depth and perspective at the same time. For such purposes, much lawn area can be replaced with deck or some other decent paving material.
Flowers are the largest water wasting plants, but there is no need to eliminate them entirely. The waste really happens when they are "peppered" at the foot of trees, shrubs, and hedges, as two plant groups then have to be watered according to the same irrigation regime. Alternatively, grouping flowers together makes for a focal point, for bold design, while saving water by allowing them to be watered separately from the woody plants.
I principle, plants that grow naturally in similar climates tend to look good together in terms of garden design. Hence plants with the small, delicate foliage typical of many Mediterranean and other dry climates plants, (small leaf surface area reduces water loss by evaporation) associate well, while looking incongruous and out of place with the large, course textures prevalent amongst tropical plants. Therefore, by keeping the two foliage types apart, with their widely different water needs, we both save water and create more appropriate, visual combinations.
So if you garden in a dry climate, take off that scowl, put on a brave smile, and embrace the opportunities that the need to save water can set up for you. All good design, whether in the home or garden, entails the judicious use of materials, and so the "imitations" imposed by the water crisis, open the way for more satisfying and sustainable dry climate gardens.
The water crisis prevailing in dry climates, from Australia, California, and the Middle East, e.t.c. is forcing gardeners to cut back radically on their water consumption. Many of us can call ourselves lucky by having any water at all available for the garden. What then should be our approach, our mindset, our attitude?
Should the dry climate gardener wear a scowl of discontent and frustration, bemoaning her misfortune in living where she does? I think this is mistaken. On the contrary, the imperative to save water opens up many fresh design possibilities, leading to a more satisfying, better-balanced garden composition. As the personal development gurus tell us, "seek the opportunity hidden in the problem".
As the two principle water guzzlers in the garden are lawns and flowers, here are a few examples showing how they can be integrated into a garden design that is both beautiful and modest in its water use.
Obviously, the area set aside for a lawn has to be greatly reduced. The common clich of a massive lawn with a strip of plants around the perimeter is in any case, simply poor design. Is the proportion between the two spaces, i.e. the lawn and the garden beds, a correct one? Of course it isn't. Instead, a smaller lawn and a correspondingly larger bed for shrubs and sculptural plants, is better balanced while creating more depth and perspective at the same time. For such purposes, much lawn area can be replaced with deck or some other decent paving material.
Flowers are the largest water wasting plants, but there is no need to eliminate them entirely. The waste really happens when they are "peppered" at the foot of trees, shrubs, and hedges, as two plant groups then have to be watered according to the same irrigation regime. Alternatively, grouping flowers together makes for a focal point, for bold design, while saving water by allowing them to be watered separately from the woody plants.
I principle, plants that grow naturally in similar climates tend to look good together in terms of garden design. Hence plants with the small, delicate foliage typical of many Mediterranean and other dry climates plants, (small leaf surface area reduces water loss by evaporation) associate well, while looking incongruous and out of place with the large, course textures prevalent amongst tropical plants. Therefore, by keeping the two foliage types apart, with their widely different water needs, we both save water and create more appropriate, visual combinations.
So if you garden in a dry climate, take off that scowl, put on a brave smile, and embrace the opportunities that the need to save water can set up for you. All good design, whether in the home or garden, entails the judicious use of materials, and so the "imitations" imposed by the water crisis, open the way for more satisfying and sustainable dry climate gardens.
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