Water friendly gardens

Water friendly gardens are designed for their soil type and climate, so they flourish with minimal watering.

How to make your garden water friendly:

Choose native plants

Natives are best suited to the New Zealand environment. Otherwise, choose plants that are drought resistant.

Use mulch

A late winter or spring compost mulch will reduce water loss through evaporation and improve soil structure.

Water when cool, and into the roots

Water in the cool of the day, and water well rather than often, directly onto the soil over the roots. Three times a week should be enough, even in hot weather.

Use light-coloured surfaces

Use a surface cover of light coloured stones or gravel. A dark one, like exposed black plastic, can overheat roots.

Use a dripper irrigation system

A dripper irrigation system delivers water directly to where it’s needed. Spray irrigation is wasteful unless you have large areas to water.

Avoid large expanses of lawn in sunny, parched areas.

Lawns require a lot of water and are susceptible to droughts, making them unappealing in times of water shortage

The Best Gardening website, has many great tips on low water use gardening, suitable for drier parts of the country.