Save water in the garden

Plan your garden with plant groups and windbreaks

• Group plants that require the same amount of water in the same area. You can water them together.
• Set up a windbreak to protect delicate plants. Windbreaks stop the wind from drying out the soil. A windbreak can be a lattice screen, hedge, fence or a small wall.

Improve the soil with organic matter

• Organic matter like manure, compost or peat makes soil healthy. Soil with lots of organic matter needs less water and fertiliser. Plants with healthy soil grow faster and better survive hot and dry conditions.

Choose indigenous and low water plants

• When you choose a plant for your garden, think about how much water it needs, as well as its size, shape, function and appearance. Many plants like Australian indigenous plants need very little water.

Less lawn and different, slow growing grass

• Lawns need more water than other parts of your garden. Less lawn is the best way to save water. Use porous/permeable paving or plant ground covers instead.
• Use grasses that need little water like Windsor-green, Santa Anna Bluegrass, Greenlees Park and Wintergreen couch varieties.

Follow water restrictions

Moreland is in Stage 1 water restrictions. Water your garden at the correct time with:

• An automatic watering system.
• A hose with a trigger nozzle.
• A watering can.
• A bucket.
• A manual dripper system.

Use more mulch everywhere

Mulch is rough particles of organic material like leaves, woodchips, hay or compost. Every part of the garden can be mulched except for tree trunks and plant stems to avoid problems with fungus.

A layer of mulch at least seven centimetres thick straight onto the soil:

• stops water leaving the soil by up to 70 per cent,
• discourages weeds,
• prevents erosion, and
• helps the soil stay at the same temperature.

Council does not provide mulch. Your local garden or landscaping centre will have a variety of mulches available.

The Healthy and Sustainable Gardens Program website has a list of Melbourne mulch and compost suppliers and FAQs on using mulch and compost.

Check your garden regularly

Check your garden every month. You may need to:

• add more mulch, and
• see if the irrigation system is working.

Install a rain garden

A raingarden is like a regular garden with one major advantage - it is positioned to receive rainwater from hard surfaces such as a downpipe from a roof, paved areas or roads.  The plants in the raingarden can survive in very wet conditions following a rain event or without water for a long period during a drought. 

Using layers of soil and gravel for filtration and planted with a combination of plants, shrubs and grasses, a raingarden reduces the amount of stormwater that would otherwise wash pollutants into the stormwater system and our rivers and creeks.