Water Saving

We will promote water saving products and use water recycling on our centres

Water is very precious to us and we are aware that it is a luxury not everyone on the planet shares. We have installed underground tanks and use this collected rainwater on both centres to water the plants.

As gardeners there is a number of ways we can reduce our water consumption.

By looking after your soil – Adding organic matter to the soil improves its structure, which helps it to retain moisture. Mulching flowerbeds, and around the base of shrubs and trees in spring, prevents moisture from evaporating during dry spells. You can add water-retentive granules or gel to compost, or use compost with them already mixed in, to use in hanging baskets and containers.

Water at the right time – Watering the garden before a drought sets in keeps the soil’s moisture levels up and helps prevent a water deficit. You should also water plants in the evening when it’s cooler, to reduce evaporation.

Use the right amount of water – Light sandy soils need watering more often, Clay-based soils can be watered less frequently, but need more water.

Grow plants that require less water – Some plants need less water than others to grow; lavender, palms, mimosa and verbena, to name a few.

Use efficient watering techniques – sprinklers have great coverage but you can’t target specific sections of your garden with them. Hoses and watering cans are labour intensive but precise because you can water around plant bases beneath the leaves and leave the surrounding soil dry. Seep hoses allow water to seep out of holes in the hose. They can be buried under soil or mulch, which avoids evaporation. A fully automated irrigation system allows water to drip or trickle into growing areas when ever you programme them to do so.

Collect rainwater and reuse old water – If every household in the country collected just one water butt’s worth of water a year (160 litres), that’s four billion litres of free water that we all could be using on our gardens. It’s simple to collect rainwater by simply diverting the water from your drainpipe into a water butt using a diverter kit.