Gardening tips: grouping plants with similar watering needs

If you are planting a new garden for spring or simply want to revamp your existing garden, it would be beneficial to consider hydrozoning before you start to plant. Hydrozoning refers to creating zones based on the needs of various plants, allowing you to set up your garden with reticulation that will deliver the required amount of water for the plants in each zone.

The Water Corporation recommends considering the following zone types when setting up your garden:

• Primary: These are high demand water areas and may require daily watering by hand. Examples include vegetable gardens.
• Secondary: These are moderate demand water areas and thrive on the two days a week watering roster. Examples include turf and ornamentals.
• Minimal: These are low demand water areas and may only require hand watering in the hotter months. Examples include established natives.

Here’s some more information on hydrozoning, thanks to the Water Corporation:

• Plant selection is critical, and choosing plants that come from climates and gardening environments similar to ours ensures they are low water users. The Water Corporation’s website has a great selection of plants for WA.
• Always group plants by their water consumption demands. For instance, endemic native plants require very little water once established, and watering twice a week is way too much. The extra water would sink below the plants’ roots and literally be wasted. So, keep them in an area where they can be watered separately from other plants in your garden.
• Highly productive plants, like herbs, vegetables, and fruiting plants, they require larger amounts of water. So, grouping them together makes a lot of sense ... it's incredibly waterwise.
• Now, if you’re not sure what plants need to go together, you can always employ the services of a fully-qualified, waterwise garden designer.
• When considering your plantings, always create buffering plants around the outside edges of the garden. This reduces wind flow through the garden. Place trees strategically to cool areas, reducing evaporation.