Page 52 - Phonebox Magazine June 2024

Phonebox Gardening
EVERY
DROP COUNTS
It’s about now that the garden and the lawn will be looking green and lush and you’ll want to keep it that way. But don’t waste water when you’re doing it.
It’s fair to say we have had a wet winter this year, and spring did not exactly plunge us into a dangerous drought. There is still lots of water in our gardens’ soil and lawns, which is helping new spring growth to bud, flower, and turn a lush shade of green.
And, of course, we want to keep it that way throughout the summer months when we will be enjoying our gardens, entertaining in them and spending more time generally looking at and using them.
So they will need irrigating. And here’s where you can do your bit to preserve precious water and make sure you don’t waste a drop when you are tending to the garden.
SAY NO TO THE HOSE
The natural tendency is to unravel your hose and use that to water the beds and grass. Worse still, you could fix your hosepipe to a sprinkler and leave that going for hours on end. But hoses use five times more water than if you used a watering can and lots of the precious liquid can be wasted this way.
Think about getting a water butt for your house to collect rainwater. You don’t even need a proper butt – a bucket, plastic bin, or any other large container will do a similar job, and by using water direct you’re helping to avoid waste.
Collecting and storing water in this way has the double effect of using plastic bins that might have gone to landfill, while using water directly rather than having it treated and pumped to your home reduces its carbon footprint.
GET WEEDING
Nobody wants weeds. They are not only unsightly and unpleasant in your flower beds, but they need water too, and start taking moisture away from your plants and shrubs. They help themselves to your soil’s nutrients, too.
Check your beds and weed regularly to keep weeds at bay. Catch them early and they are usually easier to pull up. Adding mulch or bark across the surface of the earth helps keep weeds away while trapping more moisture within the soil. When you water the garden, the chippings allow the wet to seep through.
HAVE A WATER- EFFICIENT GARDEN
If you plan carefully you can grow an attractive garden that doesn’t need as much water as you might think. Investing in some new, well-
52 Phonebox Magazine | June 2024
composted soil for example will retain moisture and add in some extra nutrients to your plants. Many flowers don’t even need a lot of water and can happily grow in fairly dry conditions. Think about planting some of these. Putting plants under hanging baskets means that
they will benefit from any drips when you water them.
And only irrigate your lawn once a week – it should be sufficient. Doing
it in the morning when it’s cooler reduces evaporation.
QUICK TIPS:
• Water shrubs only when they really start to look dry – often plants can be over-watered
• Concentrate on younger, newer plants – the older ones will survive longer without irrigation
• Let grass grow longer on the lawn, it shades the roots and retains moisture
• Soaking infrequently encourages roots to search for moisture
• Use a watering can, not a hose
• If you do use a hose, have an on/off trigger on the end
• Water plants’ roots rather than the flowers themselves – that’s where it’s needed
• Water early in the morning or late at night
• Consider putting water retaining crystals in your soil
• Don’t waste water cleaning down
paths and patios