A beautiful green garden is surely something we all aspire to. That is of course if we are lucky enough to have a garden in the first place. A verdant garden not only looks incredible but it is also so good for our mental health and wellbeing. But keeping a garden lush and green and looking it’s best is no easy task. A green garden needs a lot of water and upkeep to maintain them. Using water isn’t a huge problem, but watering your garden every day can use hundreds of litres per week, which puts a strain on the water suppliers not to mention your bank balance.
Using too much water is also problematic from a sustainability point of view. So, how do you conserve water yet retain a lush green garden space?
Choose Draught-Resistant Plants
One of the easiest ways to ensure a green garden all year round is to purposefully choose drought-resistant plants for your garden. These are plants that don’t need much water to thrive and will remain their natural colour throughout the year. Plants like lavender, ornamental grasses, succulents and certain small shrubs and native species can be a good option as they remain resilient even in dry spells.
You can still have a few plants here and there that need more water, but if the majority are drought-resistant, then this will help to keep your water bills manageable while your garden remains green.
Use Smart Irrigation Systems
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Making smart choices when it comes to irrigation is a great start. There is a lot that you can do manually here to help conserve water whilst maintaining a green garden. Firstly, try watering the garden early in the morning and later in the evening to minimize evaporation in the warmer hours of the day. Secondly, you can set up a water collection system that will enable you to harvest rainwater that can be used to keep the garden hydrated. Water butts are not that expensive and can be connected to your guttering and downpipes to ensure that rainwater is channelled into a butt for use when needed.
If you are looking for something a little smarter, you could consider setting up a drip irrigation system or using soaker hoses. These are efficient ways to deliver water directly to the roots of the plants. You could even install rain sensors or moisture sensors to prevent overwatering during rainy periods or when unnecessary.
Add Mulch for Water Retention
Using mulch is another great way to cut down on water use in the garden. Mulch is a protective layer of material that is spread on top of soil and can help to conserve moisture. Mulch can be organic, made from things like grass clippings, straw, bark chips, and leaves, or it can be inorganic made from things like stones, brick chips, pebbles, gravel, and landscape fabric.
Applying mulch not only helps to retain moisture but can also prevent weeds from growing that would be competing for the available water.
Rethink the Lawn for a Green Garden
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The other option that you have is to rethink the lawn. You can save water by opting for a smaller lawn that will require less water as this is where most of the water is required. A green garden is definitely preferable to a dry, patchy, brown lawn.
The other thing you could do is choose artificial grass for your lawn. An artificial lawn never needs watering and remains the same colour forever. It gives you a luscious green garden with the lowest amount of maintenance possible.
However, there are important considerations to make when opting for artificial grass over a real lawn. Firstly there is the environmental impact as artificial grass is made from plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene, which are non-biodegradable. This means it will eventually contribute to landfill waste.
Artificial grass also has a larger carbon footprint when compared to natural grass due to the production, transportation, and installation of an artificial lawn. It can also leech microplastics into the environment as it can degrade over time. And finally, it can have a negative impact on biodiversity and ecological balance as it disrupts the natural habitats of wildlife by limiting their access to food and shelter.
So make sure you weigh up the negatives with the positives of an artificial lawn before making your decision.