Conserving a precious resource
Reduce lawn space and save water
Native verge gardens are a great water efficient alternative to lawn.
If you plant these gardens in winter, you don’t need to install permanent irrigation as hand watering should be sufficient during hot periods.
The verge is the perfect, unused space to attract biodiversity and show off native plants in flower at all times of the year.
If you’re looking for tips on how to start a Bay OK Native Verge Garden, complete the form below and our Bay OK officer will be in touch!
Effective hydrozoning principles
Hydrozoning groups plants with similar needs together.
It involves classifying garden areas based on the garden’s fertiliser, water and maintenance needs.
Identify which areas require more resources based on visual importance or amount of use.
Some simple hydrozoning principles to consider:
Minimise plants with high water and fertiliser needs
Generally lawns require more water, fertiliser and maintenance than a shrub bed; similarly with exotic shrubs compared to native shrubs and succulents.
Group similar plants in each hydrozone
Plants should be grouped according to their fertiliser, water and sunlight requirements. For example: lawn and shrubs should be on separate hydrozones
Irrigate based on hydrozones
Use the identified hydrozones to assist with your irrigation layout. For example, it is recommended that sprinklers are used across all lawn areas and drip irrigation for garden beds
Use consistent sprinkler heads on each hydrozone
This ensures even water distribution and pressure to maximise water efficiency
Reduce the amount of hard surfaces
Water saving technologies
Install a rainwater tank to collect rainwater from your roof, which can be used to irrigate your garden or plumbed directly into your house.
Greywater systems recycle water from your laundry, shower and basins to irrigate your garden through sub surface drip irrigation.
Greywater pipes are always purple. If you have a greywater system, you will need to be careful what cleaning products you use.
Automated, water saving technologies will help you save water and reduce runoff.
Install simple irrigation technologies such as a rain sensor or soil moisture sensor.
These can adjust your irrigation watering run times during/ following rain events.
There’s nothing worse than seeing sprinklers running during a downpour! Your lawn and plants can’t use excess water (or nutrients for that matter) so it is lost to our stormwater systems.
Consider the use of:
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