Green finger tips

Water is vital for successful gardening – follow these tips and see how you can have a lush garden and save water at the same time.

• Save water, save weeding – cover soil with pebbles, gravel or chipped bark. These keep moisture in and weeds out.
• Harvest the rain – boost your water supply with a water butt. In one year a typical water butt collects 85,000 litres of rainwater – enough to keep your beds blooming all summer. Grab yourself a water butt.
• Hanging around – use less water. Have fewer hanging baskets in the summer. Large containers are easier to keep moist and use less water.
• Less is more - occasional but thorough watering will make plants more resilient to periods of drought.
• Back to basics – swap your hose for the good old fashioned watering can. Your hosepipe can use as much water in one hour as a family of four in one day.
• Let the grass grow – lawns don’t need watering – a brown lawn soon recovers after rain. Set your mower on a higher setting and don’t cut your lawn too often to keep moisture in.
• Put down your roots – growing plants with long roots will do well in dry conditions and need less watering.
• Be cool – water in the evening or early morning when it’s cooler. Less water will be lost through evaporation.
  

Last but not least

• Enjoy your garden - By combining water saving measures with a careful selection of plants, trees and shrubs, you can save yourself water and have time to sit and relax in your green haven.