While beautifying our gardens or expanding what we grow is usually the priority while gardening, there are a number of important factors to consider to ensure we are being smart with our resources and saving ourselves time and energy in maintaining our gardening endeavours.
In addition to conserving water, it is important to consider how we can continue making the most of our gardens, from adopting sustainability initiatives and new technologies to adjusting our gardening methods depending on the size, shape and location of our garden. Urban apartment gardens are just one example of how the traditional gardening landscape is shifting due to an increased number of our population moving into smaller dwellings and apartments.
We’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to help you make the most of your precious outdoor space and the time you spend in it.
Know What to Grow
- A little planning goes a long way towards ensuring your garden is a success. Before you start digging, consider the size of your garden, location of the sun, whether you need to put in any wind breaks to protect young plants, what type of soil you have and the general climatic conditions of your region. Take note of any invasive plants that can quickly take over a garden bed and choke out their plant neighbours. Herbs like mint for example, are best confined to pots due to this reason.
- If you’re choosing to grow indoors, consider the reason for this before selecting your plants. For instant green décor, select fast growing plants like Palms, Peace lilies or Devil’s Ivy, or choose a mature tree like the popular Fiddle Leaf Fig. Plants like Aloe Vera help with purifying air and absorbing airborne compounds from cleaning agents but keep in mind the light requirements as most indoor plants enjoy a very sunny indoor location.
- Indoor plants will also require drainage, so prepare your pots with saucers to catch excess water.
- For more information on what will work in your region, we recommend checking the Gardenate website.
Water Smarter
- Save water and money by taking some time to understand your garden’s specific watering needs. Your watering requirements will change throughout the year depending on your soil conditions, climate, region and plant selection. Ideally, you will have plants grouped together based on their watering needs. For example, keep your succulents, which don’t require much water, separate from thirsty herbs and veggies.
- Check out our top 6 Tips for a Water Wise Garden for an introduction to smart watering considerations.
Automate Watering with a Tap Timer or Irrigation Controller
- Tap Timers are perfect for busy periods and holidays when watering is easily forgotten. Whether you water your lawn and garden beds by hand, with a Soaker Hose, or have a built in irrigation system installed, a versatile Tap Timer or Irrigation Controller will help by scheduling automated watering.
- It is ideal to water when the sun in low in the sky and daytime temperatures are minimal. These are often inconvenient times for us to hand water, as they coincide with sleeping or having dinner! So why not have a Tap Timer or Irrigation Controller do it for you.
- Take note of any watering restriction in your State too, as these are often vigilantly enforced in the hot seasons to protect our precious water reserves.
- Browse our range of Irrigation Controllers and Tap Timers to find out how a tap timer can improve your watering.
Use an iWeather™ Station to monitor weather conditions in your region
- Weather Stations are a clever and easy way of keeping tabs on your local weather patterns – as local as your own backyard! Weather occurrences, like rainfall, can often vary slightly between suburbs and although the difference may seem negligible to some people, to the smart gardener the data collected could mean skipping a watering day because their suburb experienced some overnight rain. Our iWeather™ Station is a two-part system consisting of a data gathering station that is mounted within the your property, which transfers environmental data to an LCD screen inside your home.
Reuse and Recycle for a Healthy Garden
- Save on expensive and non eco-friendly fertilisers by incorporating sustainable practices into your gardening. It can be as easy as saving your coffee grinds as a cheap and convenient additive to your compost, worm farm or top soil, and a DIY solution for keeping pests at bay. You can also look into composting bins to minimise food wastage at home. Compost Bins are available in a range of sizes and price points at your local hardware store.
Grow Your own Vegetables regardless of your space
- Innovative growing systems like our Raised Garden Beds and GreenWalls™ mean you can grow your own veggies regardless of your living situation. Check out our 4 Ways to Green up Your Space While Renting or tips for DIY Vertical Gardening for inspiration on growing your own plants, even in the smallest spaces.
