| 1 |
Don't waste
your household water. Use it in the garden. Washing up and bath
water can be used to water your plants and lawn. Small amounts
of mild detergent or bubble bath will not harm your garden.
More >
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| 2 |
Install a water
butt - 90,000 litres of rain fall onto a typical roof in any
year - enough to fill 470 water butts! Rainwater is much better
for the garden than Tap water, and it's free. See the
Water Butts section >. |
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| 3 |
Use a watering
can instead of a hose. Make a slight depression in the soil
around plants that need regular watering to prevent run-off and
water around the base of plants and trees - not on leaves. Water
plants early morning or in the evening to reduce water loss by
evaporation. More
> |
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| 4 |
Don't water
between plants as this can encourage weeds and increase your
work.
Remove weeds as they surface - they will draw valuable water
from the ground |
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| 5 |
If you water
more thoroughly and less frequently, the roots of your plants
will be encouraged to extend deeper and become hardier. An
established lawn will not die just because of a dry spell. |
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| 6 |
Increase your
lawn mover blade height to around 4cm. This will encourage dense
bushy growth to trap morning dew; it will reduce evaporation and
keep weeds away. |
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| 7 |
Put patio
plants in larger containers, as they need less frequent watering
and group small pots together in a tray of water to help them
survive hot days. Use bio-degradable gel crystals in your
planters; they can reduce the need for watering from several
times a day at peak temperatures to just once or twice a week. |
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| 8 |
If you MUST use
a hose (and you are allowed to in your area), a trigger gun will
allow you to switch off the hose when you don't need it, rather
than having to walk back to your tap to switch it off every
time. |
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| 9 |
Choose plants
that thrive in hot & dry conditions - varieties such as
hebe, buddleia, geranium ice plant, butterfly bush &
lavender are more drought-tolerant |
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| 10 |
Plant
containers & window boxes: Line with plastic, improve the
soil with peat-free organic compost and top with a mulch. |
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| 11 |
Mulching around
flower beds will reduce the need for watering and supress weeds.
There are various alternative mulchies. More
> |
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| 12 |
In severe
drought, remove half the leaves of large-leaved plants. |
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| 13 |
With droughts
becooming more frequent in the UK, select Drought-resistant
plants. More
> |
The
Self-Watering Globe: This clever watering device even adjusts itself
to the temperature, releasing more water when it's hot and less when
it's cooler. Can be used on both indoor and outdoor plants and lasts
up to three weeks. It's also useful when you're at home for those
hard-to-reach pots. Comes with a 650ml reservoir, orattach a 2L
drinks bottle instead. Spike 12cm, Globe dia 11cm. Available from
Garden Centres
The
all new Ban Beater Grey Water Recycling System makes recycling your
household grey water so easy you can start recycling within minutes
of receiving it. There is no pump up and down action, just one
single pull on the ban beater and you can empty an entire bath and
run your hosepipe. Available from
Reduce
the need for watering in your garden by choosing plants that are
well-adapted to growing in dry soil. For instance, this Bottlebrush
is a splendid crimson-red, brush-like flower spikes borne on in June
and July. Makes an eye-catching specimen for a sunny shrub border
with is silky, pinkish-red young shoots which turn dark green with
age. Available from