Water is incredibly important in our lives. After all, we need to drink plenty of it to stay healthy and alive. It’s fair to say that without water, there would be no life. That’s not just the case for us, though – it is also fitting for our garden. Without any water, our lawns, flowers, and plants would simply wither up and die. So, as a gardener, it is incredibly important that you know how you should be using water in your garden. There are many ways you can utilize water, some of which are much more efficient than others.
However, there are also some ways water can be quite damaging to your garden. This can be the case during periods of excess rainfall. Your garden might not have sufficient drainage for example, and this could cause it to become boggy or even flood. To make sure that water doesn’t spoil any of your property’s outdoor areas, here are some tips that can keep the water balance just right.
Prevent Water Damage In Your Garden
- Add Effective Drainage. If your garden gets clogged after rain on a regular basis, you might want to think about improving its drainage. There are various ways you can go about this, but the best is to add a some small stones or gravel underneath the top layer of soil or just underneath your lawn. This can help the water drain away from the surface of the soil much better than without it. If that doesn’t seem to make any difference, you can add what is known as a “French drain” to your garden. To do this, you need to dig a trench in your garden and fill it with some gravel. On top of the gravel, you should lay a pipe. This will direct excess water out of your garden and prevent it from settling on top of the surface. Once the pipe has been lain, you won’t have to worry about your garden flooding again.
- Get Waterproof Outdoor Furniture. The rainfall can cause some damage to your outdoor furniture if you ever leave it out during bad weather. If you have any furniture that is made from soft materials and fabrics, you should always try and bring it indoors if there is any rain forecast to prevent any damage. But that might no longer be necessary as there are now more and more items of garden furniture that are being made from waterproof upholstery. You can see some ideas from Bridgman to find out exactly what kind of waterproof furniture is available. Some are even stain preventative, so you don’t have to worry too much about spilling dark drinks on them!
- Add Wood Stain To Your Decking. Over time, the rain can cause some damage to any wooden decking that you may have in your garden. It will cause it to rot a lot quicker than usual and it could also discolor in all the moisture. There is one way around this, thankfully. You just need to make sure that you coat it in a good-quality wood stain at least once a year. This will make the wood waterproof so that no rain absorbs into it.
- Plant Some Trees. Did you know that some trees love wet soil and they will be huge helps for your garden drainage? It’s true! Trees like green ash, bald cypress, and pear will soak up all the water in your garden before you even realize it. In fact, these kinds of trees love their water so much, that you might find you have to water them a lot even in wet weather!
So, as you can see then, water isn’t always good for your garden as a whole. But there is no denying that your plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs will all need it to survive.
If you are reading this in summer, you will need to make sure that you are taking care when you water your plants. Watering them incorrectly in the heat could lead to them suffering some damage and, in some worst-case scenarios, they could even die. Not sure if you are watering your plants right in all the heat? Here are some important tips.
How To Water Plants In Hot Weather
- Water in the early morning and early evening. It is really important that you don’t water your plants at the hottest time of the day. This is because it can result in the leaves of the plant getting sunburnt. I bet you didn’t realize that plants and flowers got sunburnt like us humans too! The water can cling to the leaves and, as the temperatures increase, so too will the water temperature. This will burn the leaves. So, be sure to water your plants in the early morning so the water has time to evaporate before it gets too hot. Alternatively, water them in the evening once the day is cooling down.
- Use A Porous Hose For Dry Areas Of Soil. You might find that some flower beds and garden patches have very dry soil, no matter how much you water them. To make sure that you don’t have to spend all your day showering the plants in this soil with a watering can, you can simply take advantage of a porous hose. These are colloquially known as “leaky hoses”. It’s basically a long hose that has some very small holes down it. So, when it is turned on and water is running through it, some water will leak. Gardeners run these hoses down the middle of flower beds that are particularly dry and leave the hose on for an hour or so. This gives the water plenty of time to be deeply absorbed by the soil so that it stays a lot more moist for longer.
So, hopefully, all of the information above will now help you protect your garden from too much water, as well as successfully watering your plants on very hot days. But do you also know how you should be saving water? There are lots of things in your garden that will be using a lot more water than what you think, from your pond to water features. Trying to prevent them from wasting too much water is key, as it can help protect the environment.
Ready to start saving as much water as possible in your garden? Here are some of my favorite tips.
Tips To Help You Save Water In Your Garden
- Take good care of your soil. Looking after your soil can help it retain water so that it stays moist for as long as possible. That way, you won’t have to water it quite as much, especially during the summer months. You should find that adding more organic matter to your soil, such as mulch and compost, will help the soil hold onto a lot more water, and that it won’t drain away quite so easily. Placing a layer of mulch on top of the soil can also help as it will prevent so much water evaporating off the top layer of soil. It’s also possible to add some granules that are specially made to help the soil hold onto more water. These can be mixed into the compost before you add the compost and mulch to the soil.
- Add Some Water Butts. Rather than using water from your taps to use on your garden, you should start collecting rainwater. This can easily be done by adding one or two water butts to your outdoor areas. These are basically large barrels that you can place anywhere outside to collect rainwater as it falls. Most people tend to place theirs by one of their home’s exterior walls, just underneath the guttering, so that it catches any overflow from the home’s drainage system. That way, you will catch as much water as possible. All of the water that you collect can then be used to water your plants, flowers, and vegetables. Even if you live in a very dry region, you will still be able to collect an impressive amount of water throughout the year. Just remember not to place your butt somewhere where it might collect any water waste from your home as this could contain detergents and other chemicals that might damage your plants.
- Figure Out The Best Watering Technique For Your Plants. Not all plants should be watered the same way. If you are using a watering technique that isn’t quite so efficient for the plant or flower in question, then you might be wasting quite a bit of water. For instance, sprinklers should only be used to water lawns and to moisten areas of soil that you are going to plant in. Watering cans and hoses can be used on areas in which you want to limit weed growth as you can aim the water exactly at the plants you want to water.
There is a lot for gardeners to learn about water, but hopefully this blog post will make all of that information a lot easier to digest!
