Our weather system is unpredictable at best. Rain is falling faster and harder for shorter periods, and droughts are lasting longer with temperatures soaring higher.
Right when plants need more water in the peak of summer, the water companies struggle to keep up with demand, placing restrictions on domestic water use. If we’re to believe the EPA, “The average U.S. household uses more water outdoors than for showering and washing clothes combined”. Hmm?
Regardless of what spin gets put on water conservation, the fact is, prices are on the rise. By being smarter with water use in the garden, you’ll save money, and spend less time watering plants and more time enjoying the flourishing beauty around your garden. Always a plus!
5 Ways to Help Your Garden Thrive Irrespective of Irrigation
1. Xeriscaping
When you need to conserve water, xeriscaping is your go-to gardening technique.
Xeriscaping is not about replacing landscaping with hardscaping. It’s about being efficient with your landscape design.
The original intention was not to replace lawns with gravel. It was to reduce the size of lawns from 95% to 33% of the available garden space.
The concept was simple. Use what garden space you have and divide it into three. Use a third of the space for a lawn, have one-third hardscaped (like a rockery), and the other third, have garden beds.
For your lawn, don’t use any old grass seed. Use drought-tolerant or warm-season grass seeds.
They may go brown in the winter, but they won’t die. When the peak heat hits, you’ll have a lush green lawn with minimal watering needed.
For more northern parts of the country (U.S.), cool-season grasses such as Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue can tolerate drought. Even in the most extreme droughts – and under hose ban conditions – they’re more likely to go dormant rather than die. Once watered, it bounces back.
2. Hydrozoning
Hydrozoning is similar to companion planting. The core difference is that you aren’t pairing plants by growing conditions like sunlight, shade, or soil type, but solely on their watering requirements.
The smaller containers you have, the more watering they’ll need. To combat that, take your most thirsty plants and pot them up in a single container, or a raised garden bed where they can be watered all at once.
The concept is to group plants that have similar watering requirements. Drought tolerant plants in one zone, medium feeders in another, and heavy drinkers in another.
This can be done in garden beds, or containers, but better is to work what you have by taking advantage of water run-off.
There will be areas in your garden that get more water than others. The bottom of slopes, under the eaves of your home or your garden shed, and near downspouts. In those areas, plant your most thirsty plants and shrubs.
To get the most from hydrozoning it’s crucial to adapt the watering to suit the zones!
It’s not going to make a blind bit of difference if you group your plants into zones, then don’t alter the sprinkler system to water less where the plants can cope – or adapt. Many are surprisingly adaptable to climate change.
Set your garden up to save on water, and then water less where you can.
3. Work with native plants
Native plants have the most efficient root systems. These plants have adapted over thousands of years so they’ve mastered survival in the toughest of droughts.
The deeper the roots a plant has, the more drought-tolerant it will be. Going back to the grass types, Fescue could have roots less than 1” beneath the soil surface, whereas Buffalograss can have roots as deep as 9”.
Native plants have adapted to the soil of the land and will continually grow their root structures until they find a sufficient water source. Often that is deep below the soil surface.
That’s not always the case though. Some plants are native to wetlands, others native to desert climates.
To find the best native plants for where you are, the National Wildlife Federation has a native plant finder function on the website. Enter your zip code, see what’s best to plant, save them to a list, and get planning before planting.
4. Make the soil bed more efficient
Have you heard this statement…
“Each 1 percent increase in soil organic matter helps soil hold 20,000 gallons more water per acre”.
~ The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
The reality is that the statement above only applies to healthy soil. Compacted soil hasn’t the same pore space making it more difficult for the water to penetrate deeper into the soil bed.
Healthy soil is crucial, but it still holds true that adding organic matter to your soil increases its water efficiency. By how much depends on the health of the soil.
For the soil to retain the water that’s captured, add mulch. The University of Florida reckons a layer of mulch can reduce water evaporation by 33%.
The texture of the soil is just as important and it’s partially why every plant you buy has a label indicating the soil type it’s best suited to. Sandy soils drain water fast, and clay soils hold water, – oftentimes for too long causing the roots to be standing in saturated soil. That’s what leads to root rot.
Amending your soil texture helps balance water retention with drainage creating a happy medium for a variety of plants.
Also, know how you can train plants to climb a trellis or a garden wall? You can train them to be drought-resistant too!
Do that by watering less frequently, but when you do water, give them more water for longer.
Deep watering encourages feeder roots to branch out deeper into the soil in search of moisture.
Make your plants work for a drink and they’ll grow stronger root structures.
5. Harvest rainwater
In almost all States, you can collect as much rainwater as you like (or can). Only five states have restrictions. “Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Illinois, and Arkansas”. In those states, check the regulations. Some permit it, but limit how much you can collect. In Colorado, it’s 110 gallons. In Utah, it’s 2,500 gallons. Some of the largest rain barrels on the market can collect 137 gallons.
Besides, rainwater is often the best quality of water to use for plants anyway.
Ever noticed after a dry spell then a sudden downpour or a thunderstorm how everything in the garden grows so much faster?
Rainwater is better for plants than tap water. There are nitrates and higher oxygen levels, and provided you’re careful where you collect your rainwater from, it should be chemical-free. It may not be if there’s chemicals leaching from roofing materials, or debris in gutters contaminating the water before it gets harvested.
By being smarter with your landscape design, the materials you use, and the watering systems you put in place, you can save a surprising amount of water, and still have a thriving garden full of lush beauty, wildflowers, and possibly even fruits and vegetables, too.

Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.