Caring for the Catchment : What you can do

Designing a garden with water efficiency in mind
Being water wise begins with designing your garden to be water efficient not only in layout and use of materials but also in terms of allowing for efficient delivery of water.

Garden layout

Few Australian gardens are designed to be water efficient. Typically they have large grassed areas, contain thirsty exotic plant species and have extensive paved surfaces which generate excess stormwater run off which can pollute local waterways.

There are many things to consider when planning a garden and one of the first concepts you should have clear in your mind is the purpose of your garden.

For example:

• Is your garden basically a football oval for your children?
• Do you like to use your garden as an entertaining area?
• Do you wish to attract native wildlife into your garden? or
• Do you simply like to admire your garden from inside your house?

Once you have it clear in your mind what you like to use your garden for, you can now go about designing your garden to meet your needs.

The next step in planning your garden is to have a good look at the site. Take note of things like wind direction, the position of the sun and shade throughout the day (in both winter and summer) and the location of existing trees.

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Using lawn

If you are having areas of lawn in your garden, be mindful of the ease and efficiency at which these areas can be watered. For example, lawn planted on steep slopes can be difficult to water and even harder to mow! Avoid making lawn pathways as these can be difficult to water, instead consider using gravel or stepping stones.

Remember too, there are a range of ground covers that you can use as a lawn alternative.

If you do choose lawn, it is important to take into consideration water requirements, wear and tear loadings, soil types, environmental conditions such as sun and shade and fertiliser use. There are different varieties of lawns considered suitable for our climate. Ask you local lawn expert for advice on selecting the species right for you. Planting of lawns can occur from September through to April except for warm season lawns that should not be planted any later than February.

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Paved areas

If you wish to have one or more paved areas, choose a paving material which allows water to soak through. This will prevent water running off into the stormwater system.

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Vehicle washing area

If you will be washing your car, boat or other vehicles at home, be sure to design your garden so that you can drive your vehicle onto an impervious surface such as grass to enable you to wash your car. Some landscape gardeners have been known to overlook this simple factor – be sure that you don’t!

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Swimming Pools

If you intend to install a swimming pool, then spend the extra and purchase a swimming pool cover. One of the major causes of water loss from a pool is through evaporation, as much as 200 litres per day.

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Paved areas

Before planting your garden, it is important that you take into consideration your soil type. South Australian soils are predominantly red/brown earths “clays”. The structure of clay soils can be improved by firstly adding gypsum (or similar product) and then medium grade sand. Soils should be prepared 5-7cms in depth as a minimum, ideally down to 10-15cms. Correct soil preparation helps to increase the soils ability to retain moisture and nutrients.

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Species selection

Chose appropriate plants. All plants have different requirements and if you are concerned about water use, it is important to consider the water needs of a plant as well as its size, appearance and flowering time when you are purchasing them.

Consider planting local South Australian native plants and trees. Native plants have evolved over many years and have adapted to our climatic conditions, one of these being that they can survive on limited water. Native gardens need very little, if any, water, and they can look extremely attractive.

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Native gardens for wildlife

An added advantage of planting local native species in your garden is that you will be creating habitat for local wildlife. For an animal, its habitat has all the necessities, such as food, water, a safe resting place and the potential to find a mate.
By growing certain wildlife-friendly plants in your garden, you can help to create a new habitat for local animals. This can mean the possible extension of animal ranges to areas where they have not been able to survive for years.

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Grouping plants with like water requirements together

To make watering more efficient, wherever possible group plants with like water requirements together. Not only will this save you water, but the survival rate of your plants will be enhanced too!

Grouping plants is particularly important when it comes to flowering plants as these can often be high consumers of water. Many people use flowers as a border to garden beds and while this can look attractive, it is extremely wasteful on water.
Remember, when choosing natives – choose a local native.

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Mulching

Mulches can prevent up to 73% of evaporation loss, reduce weed growth (weeds compete with plants for water), prevent soil erosion, even out variations in soil temperature over the day and night and improve soil structure, especially organic mulches.

Spread mulch away from the trunks of trees to prevent collar rot. You may also want to consider when you put the mulch down, as it can sometimes be easier to spread the mulch around the garden bed before you have the plants in place.

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NOTE:
While every effort has been made by the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges NRM Board to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in this guide, no guarantee is given, nor responsibility taken, by the Board for errors or omissions. The Board does not accept responsibility in respect of any information or advice given in relation to or as a consequence of anything contained here.