10 Ways Of Saving Water In The Garden

!±8± 10 Ways Of Saving Water In The Garden

Top tips for managing water use in your garden especially where is doesn't rain very often (or indeed hardly ever):

1. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean the paved areas in your garden. If you are doing this with the children you can make a game of it and see who sweeps up the biggest pile of dirt or leaves.

2. Check taps or water equipment for signs of leaks and repair as quickly as you can. One drop a second leaking from a tap can be as much as 5000 litres a year. Use a trigger on the end of your hose so that the water is never left running onto the ground.

3. Sloping gardens and features will allow the water to run off more quickly than flat areas. You might get soil washed off that is vital for your garden as well as valuable water. Also any chemicals or fertiliser that you have applied in the garden could end up in local streams and rivers and cause pollution.

4. A crowded garden will use more water and may also be more prone to disease.

5. Choose a grass mix for the lawn that needs less water especially if you live in an area with low natural rainfall. Lawns are the most water-hungry feature in a garden.

6. Use low water plants by planning your garden and selecting plants that survive with less water. Some low water plants also provide a lot of ground cover - so less weeding.

7. Mulching will also retain the water in the soil.

8. Set up rain butts so that when it rains you can collect roof water that runs off into your gutters. Put a rain gauge in your garden so that you can monitor rainfall and you don't water plants unnecessarily. Rain gauges are good fun for children too and you can work with them on their maths, and draw graphs to show how often it rains or have a weather calendar in the kitchen where the children have made the symbols clouds, sun, rain drops, snow etc.

9. If you need to water your garden, then choose the right time of day. Don't water in the heat of the day because the water will simply evaporate. The best time is the early morning. Don't water on windy days because this will be less effective.

10. Better still to use a water efficient drip or tape water irrigation system for your trees, shrubs and flowers

I've lots more tips for fun in the garden and water saving but I'll leave those for another day!