Your Guide to Waterwise Gardening - Perth, Australia

1. Your Guide to Waterwise Gardening
Water is a precious resource and Western
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Waterwise gardens use less water and are
low maintenance, leaving you with more
time to relax and enjoy your surroundings. JOSH SAYS: Reduced
rainfall and extended
Follow the tips provided for a beautiful periods of drought mean
waterwise garden. that water-guzzling
Having a waterwise garden will: gardens need to
become a thing of the
• Save water - every drop counts! past. With some creative
• Reduce your impact on the thinking and planning,
environment (e.g. less fertiliser we can all turn our
gardens into beautiful
leaching). and productive places
• Reduce maintenance (less pruning that are more in tune
and mowing required). with our unique Western
Australian conditions.
• Save money on water bills!
Government of Western Australia
Department of Transport
For more Living Smart information go to: www.transport.wa.gov.au/livingsmart

2. WHERE DO I START? the nearest accredited centre just
Select waterwise plants to create an follow the ‘Being Waterwise’ links from
attractive, low maintenance garden www.watercorporation.com.au.
that helps conserve our precious water • The majority of your garden should
resources. be set aside for hardy “one drop”
Waterwise plants which are suitable
HOW DO I DO IT? for Perth conditions. Keep the area for
thirsty or “three drop” plants (including
Planning and Design
vegetables and annual flower beds) to
Some basic planning is critical to achieve a
a minimum, and locate these close to
beautiful and waterwise garden – just follow
the house for maximum enjoyment.
these handy hints:
• An incredibly diverse range of
• Take the time to observe the micro- Waterwise plants are available, so
climate in different parts of your garden you can create any style of garden
(e.g. sunny, shady, windy, etc) – this you like – including Mediterranean,
will allow you to select plants that are cottage, formal and even tropical
best suited to particular conditions. themes! Garden design ideas and
• Consider the topography of your compatible species lists are available
garden for positioning different plants. from the Water Corporation at
Choose hardy, deep rooted plants for www.watercorporation.com.au.
sloping areas where water tends to run
Plant Selection
off rather than infiltrate the soil. Place
The Perth area has unique and challenging
thirsty plants in depressions where rain
gardening conditions due to our
(and irrigation) water collects.
Mediterranean climate, with long, hot, dry
• Group plants with similar water summers and short, cool winters. Consider
requirements together so you can using native plants that are ideally suited
irrigate them efficiently – this is called to your conditions and need minimal
“hydrozoning”. Waterwise Garden watering once established. Local native
Centres label their plants as ‘one, two (or indigenous) species have the added
or three drop plants’ to assist you with bonus of providing food and habitat for
grouping them in the garden. To locate
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3. local fauna. There is a huge range of Lawn:
hardy exotic species that are well suited to Lawns typically need more water than
Western Australia’s conditions but are not hardy shrubs and ground covers. They are
invasive weeds. You can get some help also higher maintenance, so when planning
in choosing stunning waterwise plants for your garden, carefully consider whether you
your garden from a number of places: need lawn, and if so keep it to the minimum
• Visit your local accredited nursery area required.
or garden centre and enquire about Hardy ground covers or stylish paving
species suited to your area. They can can make a great lawn replacement (but
also help you to identify your soil type avoid creating heat traps near the house
characteristics, including texture and from pavers that transfer summer sun
pH (a measure of soil acidity/alkalinity). into the house slab or reflect heat up onto
• The Water Corporation’s “Waterwise windows).
Plants for Perth” is an excellent If you do decide to have lawn, choose a
database of native and exotic plants water-efficient species such as Saltene,
that (once established) will flourish Zoysia or one of the soft leafed Buffalos.
on one watering a week or less Soil preparation is also important to
during summer – follow the links from improve the water efficiency of lawns.
www.watercorporation.com.au.
• The Wildflower Society of Western Potplants:
Australia provides species lists for the If establishing a garden in pots, use a
different Western Australian soil types premium grade potting mix – it has a higher
– visit the website http://members. water holding capacity so you will not need
ozemail.com.au/~wildflowers/. to water as often.
Timing: Unglazed clay pots are porous and dry
Autumn (April and May) is one of the best out quickly. Coat these with a sealing
times to plant in Perth due to the cooler agent prior to planting, but make sure the
weather. Give your new plants the best drainage holes are clear.
chance to thrive by planting at the right
times.
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4. Preparing Your Waterwise HOW DO I DO IT?
Garden - Soil Conditioning To improve the quality of your soil, add
and Mulching organic matter such as:
Adding soil conditioner to your garden • Compost – make your own with a
beds and pots along with a layer of coarse range of organic household materials,
mulch can help you create a thriving, with the added benefit of reducing
water-efficient garden. your household waste.
• Worm castings – become a worm
SOIL CONDITIONING - WHAT ‘farmer’ and get your ‘workers’ to
CAN I DO? create this wonderful soil conditioner.
The secret to a flourishing garden is well • Aged animal manures (e.g. chicken,
prepared soil...so be ready to get your sheep, cow, horse) – these are great
hands dirty! for growing veggies and other hungry
A well conditioned soil: exotic plants. Remember that manure
• Is filled with plenty of organic matter is nutrient rich and should be used
and abundant soil life. lightly. It may also harm some native
• Has a pH (soil acidity/alkalinity) plants. There are specialist slow
neutral to slightly acidic (pH 6-7). release fertilisers for natives – just ask
• Is free draining while still able to retain your local nursery for further advice.
moisture and nutrients. • Packaged organic fertilisers (e.g.
The first rule of successful, low blood and bone, chicken manure
maintenance gardening is to feed the soil, pellets and liquid organic fertilisers)
not the plants. A well conditioned soil will – these feed your plants and also
support plants without the need for regular improve the soil (just follow the
applications of chemical fertilisers, which product recommendations).
can quickly leach through our sandy soils • Organic mulches – these break down
and contaminate groundwater and water to improve the soil.
ways.
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5. Organic matter can be dug in prior to WHY
planting or laid on top of soil in an already
Benefits Soil Conditioning
established garden. Either way, it will
break down and improve your soil. Always Improves soil
add soil conditioners prior to planting structure as well
and at least twice a year to established as moisture and 
plants. Check your soil pH with a kit from nutrient retention
your local nursery. Most plants prefer a Encourages
pH of around 6-7. If your soil is not within
this range, the local nursery will be able
microbiological 
activity
to recommend an appropriate product
Makes plants
to adjust the pH level, or suggest plants
healthier 
suited to the conditions.
Remove all weeds from your garden Reduces the water
needs of your
area – weeds compete with plants for soil
nutrients and water. Apply wetting agent to plants, helping you 
your soil in early Spring and late Summer save water
to counter Perth’s water repellent soil.
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6. MULCHING HOW DO I DO IT?
Mulch is best applied at the end of
WHAT CAN I DO? winter or the beginning of spring while
There are three main types of mulches the ground is moist from winter rain and
– feeding mulch (such as pea straw, before the hot, drying winds of summer.
shredded lupins or lucerne hay), woody Condition your soil prior to mulching, lay
mulch (such as wood chips or prunings), mulch around your plants (keeping clear
and permanent mulch (such as gravel or of the stem) in a layer about 5-10cm thick.
pebbles). Good waterwise mulches have Course woody mulch should be reapplied
coarse and irregular texture, allowing annually.
water to penetrate and the soil to breathe,
whilst reducing evaporation and keeping Before mulching:
the soil cool. • Remove any grass, weeds and dead
Soft mulches (such as feeding mulch) plants from the garden;
break down rapidly to feed the soil and • Put in any new plants;
need topping up regularly. These are • If installing an irrigation system,
suited for fruit trees, vegetable gardens such as a drip system, do so before
and other hungry plants. mulching.
Woody mulches are better suited to MULCHING TIPS
deeper rooted hardy plants (such as Free mulch (shredded green waste) is
natives) and are ideal for exposed areas often available from your local council.
as they are less likely to blow away. It can also be purchased cheaply
Permanent mulches are mainly used from commercial tree loppers. Mulch
for landscaping effects but also play an Net is a local Perth company that
important role in retaining soil moisture. arranges free mulch deliveries from tree
These are best suited to plants that have lopping contractors (for more info visit
modest feeding requirements and don’t www.mulchnet.com).
drop leaves (such as succulents).
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7. WHY HOW DO I DO IT?
Benefits Mulching Plan for Efficient Watering
Group plants in your garden together
Improves moisture and
nutrient retention in the soil  according to their water needs so you
can irrigate them efficiently without over
Suppresses weeds  or under watering. A good place to start is
Encourages with a Waterwise Garden Appraisal from
microbiological activity  your local Waterwise Garden Centre.
Watering Times
Makes plants healthier  The best time to water your garden is at
Looks great  dawn when there are minimal evaporative
losses and the risk of plant based fungal
Prevents soil erosion in
windy areas  diseases is reduced. Irrigation run times
vary depending on the application rate of
Reduces the water needs your irrigation system, but typically range
of your plants, helping
you save water
 from 10 – 15 minutes per station. For
assistance in determining ideal run times
consult one of the Waterwise Garden
Maintaining Your
Irrigators – you’ll find contact details for
Waterwise Garden -
these by following the ‘Being Waterwise’
Efficient Watering links from www.watercorporation.com.au.
WHAT CAN I DO?
By applying the right amount of water in
the cool hours of the day and using drip
irrigation you will save water and allow
your garden to thrive.
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8. Watering Rosters Gardens can only be irrigated on your
The Water Corporation’s Water Efficiency allocated days either during the morning
Measures include a roster system for (before 9am) or the evening (after 6pm
water users across WA. In Perth and and reticulation systems must be switched
surrounds, there is currently a two day off during winter). These water efficiency
a week roster for scheme users and measures have reduced water use in Perth
an additional day for bore users. Your by 45 million litres per year. To find out
household watering days are determined more about water efficiency measures,
by your house number (the last digit). visit www.watercorporation.com.au.
House or Lot Watering Days for Bore owners
Numbers (ending in) scheme and bore water users additional day
(2 days)
1 Wednesday and Saturday Monday
2 Thursday and Sunday Tuesday
3 Friday and Monday Wednesday
4 Saturday and Tuesday Thursday
5 Sunday and Wednesday Friday
6 Monday and Thursday Saturday
7 Tuesday and Friday Sunday
8 Wednesday and Saturday Monday
9 Thursday and Sunday Tuesday
0 Friday and Monday Wednesday
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9. Reticulation Systems - Drip Hand Watering
Irrigation and Sprinklers Hand watering can be a very efficient
Substrata (under the mulch) drip irrigation method of watering – particularly if you
is the most efficient way to water your use a ‘trigger’ nozzle to ensure minimal
plants. Water is applied directly to the water wastage when moving between
roots, eliminating evaporative losses and plants. It is important to ensure not to over
overspray. As the water is applied to the water using this method. Try to keep hand
soil rather than the foliage, fewer fungal watering to twice a week except in very hot
diseases are experienced. Drip irrigation conditions.
systems are reasonably priced and easy
to install and maintain – please refer to the Diversified Water Sources
‘Installing Drip Irrigation’ section further You can utilise rainfall by diverting water
below for more information. from gutters or laying paving to direct
run off into garden beds to recharge soil
Sprinklers come in many varieties. The
moisture. By doing this, even light rainfall
most efficient for Western Australia’s
events can benefit your plants. Tanks can
conditions are the heavy droplet type
be used to store water for garden use but
which reduce wind drift and water loss.
the types of small tanks that are suited
If using sprinklers it is very important to
to urban lots soon run out in summer.
position them to get maximum uniformity
Household greywater can also be used
of application over the area being
in the garden by redirecting shower, bath,
irrigated. Avoid watering in the heat of the
hand basin and laundry water through an
day or during windy times. When using a
‘approved greywater system’.
portable sprinkler and hose, always use a
tap timer to ensure you don’t waste water
by forgetting to turn the sprinkler off.
For irrigation advice and support visit
a WaterWise Irrigation Design Shop –
you’ll find contact details for these by
following the ‘Being Waterwise’ links from
www.watercorporation.com.au.
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10. Installing Drip Irrigation performance. Your Waterwise Irrigation
Design Shop can assist you in making
HOW DO I DO IT? the correct choice – you’ll find contact
Drip irrigation is a watering system that details for your nearest shop by following
saves water by delivering it in drips rather the ‘Being Waterwise’ links from
than a spray. It is easy to convert many www.watercorporation.com.au.
existing irrigation systems to drippers.
There are two main types of drip irrigation: Spacing
Drip irrigation supplies a controlled
Button drippers are individual dripper units amount of water to a limited portion of soil
that are manually attached to poly pipe surrounding each plant and relies on the
and have either a fixed or adjustable flow properties of the soil to spread the water
rate. They are best suited to small pots laterally. It’s important to tailor your system
and hanging baskets. to your soil type, as water moves very
Drip-line products are fixed flow drippers differently through sand, loam and clay.
set at regular intervals inside a length
of poly pipe during the manufacturing Soil type clay loam sand
process. They are ideal for garden beds Dripper interval 50cm 40cm 30cm
as a substitute for sprinklers, particularly in Line spacing 50cm 40cm 30cm
narrow and irregularly shaped situations.
In addition to a timer, a typical drip Installation
irrigation system will include a filter to Drip irrigation can be installed into existing
prevent drippers from blocking up, as garden beds and laid in various patterns to
well as a pressure regulating valve and suit the planting layout. Simply lay the drip
vacuum relief valves. line on the surface of the beds and mulch
over the pipes to conceal them. If you are
There are different drip products designed
irrigating a veggie patch or annual flower
for specific applications, including bore
beds where the soil is regularly worked, the
water and greywater, and equipment
lines may be left on the surface so they can
such as a filter is required for optimum
be lifted when digging.
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11. Once you have run the lengths of drip line called trifluralin, a chemical that rapidly
along your garden beds, connect one breaks down when it makes contact
end into the poly pipe supply line using a with the soil. In sandy
punching tool and drip line connectors. soil, thorough soil
The other end can be capped using a conditioning is required
piece of poly pipe – simply fold the end to ensure even wetting
of the drip line and slip a small piece of of the root zone.
the poly pipe over the end. Removing For more information
the poly pipe `cap´ allows the drip line on installing a drip
to be flushed of debris for maintenance. irrigation system and
If you are laying out a number of lines for general information on creating a
across a garden bed, the drip lines productive and waterwise garden – see
should be connected to a blank poly pipe Josh’s book The Green Gardener by
`collection´ line that is capped off at both Penguin Books.
ends, so that if one end is opened, all
To have an irrigation system installed
the drip lines are flushed through the one
professionally, consult a Waterwise
point for convenience. Secure the drip line
Garden Irrigator. Contact details
in place using pins made from stiff wire.
for both can be found by following
The use of drip line irrigation under lawn is the ‘Being Waterwise’ links from
becoming increasingly popular. Installing www.watercorporation.com.au.
it under roll-on lawn prior to laying is
the easiest method, but there are also
machines available that can insert drip
lines into established lawns. You will need
to take measures against root intrusion in
a subsurface area. This can be done by
including a root-intrusion guard, a filter-like
device that continually doses the irrigation
water with a small amount of herbicide
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12. Waterwise Garden Maintenance By planting a waterwise garden you can
Tips: reduce your water consumption and save
• Regularly check your irrigation system money on your water bill.
for leaks and blockages. Also check
for dripping taps;
YOUR WATERWISE CHECKLIST
Waterwise
• Adjust your irrigation controller Garden already New
doing  Action 
according to the seasons and switch it Checklist
off in the event of rain and over winter; Choose
• Apply wetting agents to aid water waterwise plants
penetration if you have non wetting soil; Condition the
• Regularly top up your mulch to retain soil
moisture in the soil; Add mulch
• Remove weeds – they use water too!; Switch to drip
• Sweep paths and driveways rather irrigation
than watering them. Stick to
watering roster
days
WHY?
The typical household uses about 660 Collect
rainwater
litres of water per day (this is about 290
Reuse grey
litres per person per day). These volumes water
are steadily decreasing with the application
of water conservation measures. Water Apply soil wetter
use in the garden is around half the total Minimise lawn
water demand for a typical household. areas
During 2010/11, Living Smart will be offered to around 10,000 households in Perth’s eastern region as part of the Perth Solar City
program. For more information on this Australian Government initiative, please call 1300 993 268 or visit perthsolarcity.com.au.The
Living Smart Ambassadors are Tanya Ha (expert in environmental living and the author of Greeniology and Green Stuff
for Kids) and Josh Byrne (sustainability specialist, presenter on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia program and author of The
Green Gardener). The information in this brochure is provided in good faith. However the accuracy or appropriateness of the
information is not guaranteed. The Living Smart brand has been developed by The Meeting Place Community Centre, the City of
Fremantle, Murdoch University and Southern Metropolitan Regional Council to support a suite of programs developing capacity
in community sustainability.
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