So, it’s been a little dry here in Pennsylvania. Well, it’s not really as bad as it looks; my soil frequently cracks like that until I’ve worked on building up the organic matter for a few years. But still, after weeks of cool temperatures and rain every other day, dealing with a week of summer-like heat and no rain is pretty tough on the garden, and the gardener, too. If I hear one more person raving about the supposedly wonderful weather we’ve been having, I’m going to get a little cranky. Ever since I read somewhere the thought that “The next drought starts with the first rainless day” (or something along that line), I almost dread the forecast of “nice” weather.
Well, whether you have to cope with too much rain or too little rain in your own garden, you’ll find something of interest in this month’s contributions for the topic of water-wise gardening. Here’s the list of contributors:
Garden Bloggers Design Workshop – Water-Wise Gardening (Nan at Gardening Gone Wild): Kick-off post for this month’s topic.
World Water Day (VP at Veg Plotting): In honor of World Water Day, which was on March 22, Veep shared an excellent tip for getting water right where it’s needed in the garden.
Water Conservation (David at Montana Wildlife Gardener): This one link leads you to a number of great water-related posts at David’s blog. Learn how to build, install, and make the most of rain barrels in your garden; why and how to get rid of unneeded lawn; and much more!
Mother Nature Throws a Wet Tantrum (Jodi at Bloomingwriter): As Jodi points out, having too much water can be just as problematic as having too little.
Drip Irrigation: Common Sense Watering (Fran at Gardening Gone Wild): Fran’s post on the many benefits of watering by drip irrigation sparked some interesting comments from our readers, as well.
Canna & Fuchsia Graywater Planter (Ryan at DryStoneGarden): Using graywater in the garden isn’t something I’d thought of when I originally proposed this topic, but I’m glad someone brought it up. Ryan discusses uses a simple system for using washing-machine water to irrigate a container planting.
Water Management (Joco at Comments): Jo gardens on sand and has high-chlorine tapwater, so collecting as much rainwater as possible and distributing it effectively during dry spells are serious garden priorities.
GGW Design Workshop: Water-Wise Gardening (Rose at Ramble on Rose): Championing the angle of selecting native plants for their ability to tolerate regional rainfall patterns without liquid life support, Rose discusses some of her strategies for her Midwestern garden.
The Sunny Woodland (Frances at Fairegarden): What do you do if you’ve carefully chosen plants to suit your site, and then your site changes? Frances proves that, with dedication and ingenuity, even a challenge like this can be faced and – hopefully – conquered.
Making a Dry Creek Bed for Downspout Drainage (Dave at The Home Garden): Dave offers a quick and simple project for dealing with rainwater runoff from house gutters.
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