2 minute read
Resilient gardens
Water Wise, Rand Water’s environmental brand, provides design guidelines on climateresilient gardens.
Over the past 200 years, human activities – such as the burning of fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, and the clearing of huge swathes of forests and jungles – have increased the release of greenhouse gases.
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These greenhouse gases have led to the accumulation of heat energy, which in turn is causing the temperature of the earth’s surface to increase (climate change).
Although climate change is a natural phenomenon, these warming and cooling cycles usually take hundreds to thousands of years to complete. Anthropogenic effects have accelerated these cycles, impacting the earth’s rainfall and temperatures, and causing the climate to change too fast.
Climate forecasts predict that the world’s average temperature will increase by an estimated 2°C over the next century. Plants and animals may not be able to adapt quickly enough to this rapid change in climate, threatening entire ecosystems.
How to design gardens to withstand climate change
• Zone plants according to their water requirements. Group high and low water users together and water each group separately as per their requirements. • Rainfall will be less frequent, therefore when rain does occur, make a plan to capture the rain for later use or direct it to areas where it is required. • Plant indigenous plants that occur naturally in your area. Keep in mind that not all indigenous plants are low water users, so choose your plants wisely. • Do not water between 6:00 and 18:00, especially between October and February.
If you have an irrigation system, set it to water during the cooler times of the day. • Install an irrigation system that makes more efficient use of water. A drip
irrigation system is the most efficient irrigation system, as it waters directly to the root zone. • When watering, check the weather first.
If it looks like rain or is very windy, postpone watering. • An ideal watering schedule is to water infrequently but deeply. This assists plants in becoming more drought resistant by encouraging deep root growth. • Make use of screening and windbreaks to reduce evaporation in your garden. • Improve the fertility of your soil. Soil rich in organic content has a better water-holding capacity and provides more nutrients for plants. • Mulch all your garden beds. Mulch reduces soil water loss by up to 70%. • Create shade areas in your garden, plant trees and make use of shade structures such as pergolas. A landscape adapted to the environment will require less maintenance and fertiliser, as well as reduce the need for pesticides and other chemicals.
