Gardening with less Water

Droughts can hit the gardens we love hard. However as gardeners we can do a lot to prepare for drought in the garden. On average, gardening water accounts for 5% of household water use. Cutting down the use of mains water and saving water in the garden makes environmental and economic sense.

Water Wisely In The Garden

• Use leftover tap water for watering house plants.

• Avoid using a garden sprinkler – they can use 500 litres an hour equivalent to a family of four's water use in 24 hours.

• Demand for water is greatest between 5pm and 8pm - leave garden watering until later in the evening.

• Avoid watering during the daytime to reduce the amount of water that may evaporate.

• Remember to check the weather forecast – it might rain tomorrow anyway!

• For more advice, visit the Environment Agency website. Also, contact your water company for more advise on how to reduce water use in the garden

Collect Water

• Install a water butt to collect rainwater or surplus water from your kitchen or bath.

• Fit a water butt on every downpipe on your house, shed, garage or greenhouse.

• Increase your storage by connecting several water butts together or just get one big butt if space allows.

• Be safe – make sure water butts have tight-fitting lids and cannot topple over.

Look After Your Plants

• Design your garden with water saving in mind.

• Make sure your soil has a high organic matter content to retain moisture.

• Make your own compost or add peat-free compost or manure to improve the moisture retention.

• Choose drought resistant plants.

• Provide potted plants with the shade when it is hot.

• If you water plants and shrubs too often their roots will remain shallow, weakening the plant. Leave them alone until they show signs of wilting.

• Install next to the plant a short piece of pipe or a bottle with both ends removed – water down the pipe or bottle to get water to the roots quicker and deeper.

• Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short. Even if the grass turns brown, it will quickly recover after a few days of rain.

Keep Down The Competition

• Regularly weed and hoe your garden, to ensure that watering helps plants and not weeds.

• Use mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth, saving you both water and time spent weeding.

• For more advice visit the Environment Agency, RHS and BBC Gardening websites. You can also read about Beth Chatto's drought resistant garden for further inspiration.

For More Advice: