Gardeners are like Marines; We Improvise, Adapt and Overcome

Well, it looks like a drought is on...again. Just when we thought our lives were going to get back to normal in the garden we are being faced with looming . We gardeners had better get used to the fact that outdoor watering is going to be an issue forever.

With an ever increasing population straining our limited water supply and hotter, dryer weather now the norm, water restrictions are going to be a fact of life. Gardeners are pragmatists generally so we will deal with the new reality. Like my Drill Instructor on Parris Island always said, "we improvise, adapt and overcome."

Gardens need water. There is no way around it. Vegetable gardens need it. Ornamental flower gardens need it. need lots of it. So how are we to garden?

The answer is multifaceted; we need to plant drought resistant plants, use mulches to conserve soil moisture and we must conserve and capture water.

According to the University of Georgia Urban Agriculture Center's publication on the topic, we can plant "a number of excellent drought-tolerant shrubs, such as dwarf yaupon holly, Indian hawthorn, dwarf crepe myrtle, glossy abelia and ‘Miss Huff’ lantana." The expert at the center also advise us to use "the ornamental grasses, including maiden grass, fountain grass and Japanese silver grass." Other drought tolerant plants recommended by the UGA Urban Ag Center include "drought-tolerant color plants (such as) sedum, verbena, Purple Heart, gaura, wave petunias, and ‘New Gold’ lantana."

Mulches are absolutely essential to preserving soil water. Almost any organic matter can be used to cover bare soil. I prefer wood mulches for my landscape; specifically single or double ground wood chips. I obtain my mulch from a local tree service. For my veggie garden I use 2-3 inches of wheat straw.

Conservation is very important for our long term water issues. I am sure everyone knows what they can do indoors to conserve water. Outside we can start by fixing leaky pipes, using reliable timers and watering between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. 

Finally, I think we need to sincerely consider the use of cisterns on residential homes to capture rain water. Thousands of gallons of water runs off of roofs in rainstorms. Rain barrels are a good idea. They just need to be scaled up a thousand fold. If we all had a 5,000 gallon tank buried under the ground that connected to our gutters, we could each store all the water our gardens might need in a year. Setting aside watering lawns, we could water a vegetable garden and our landscape plants as well. Of course, this is an expensive proposition now but maybe one day the prices will come down.