At this time of year, we should treat water as the precious resource it is, says Claire Saul
WORDS: CLAIRE SAUL
Water is a vital and very precious commodity, but the world’s resources are severely affected by population growth, rising usage – and climate change.
We’re reminded of this in the summer months, when our gardens place more demands on our household water usage than usual.
The team at Tintinhull Garden, a National Trust location in Somerset, have taken several important steps towards making its future more sustainable.
One of the boldest moves has been taking the garden off mains water supply. Recognising the growing trend for longer, hotter, and significantly drier summers, the team introduced an automated watering system in part of the garden last year.
This used rainwater from harvesting tanks to irrigate the kitchen garden through the summer months.
It was a great success, keeping the ground moist and the plants green during times of little rain.
The team installed two additional large water tanks over the winter, allowing the whole site to be taken off mains water for irrigation purposes.
Along with significantly reducing the environmental impact of the garden, the team no longer had to spend 16 hours a week watering it!
The large, shallow pond in Tintinhull’s pool garden tends to heat up quickly in the summer. This depletes the oxygen for plants and animals and causes an overgrowth of algae and weeds.
To prevent this, the pond was fitted with a hidden pressure filter. This keeps the water clear and also creates liquid fertiliser as a byproduct. This can then be introduced into the automated watering system to provide the garden plants with a completely natural nutritional boost.
Alexander Newman, senior gardener at Tintinhull, offers three additional tips for helping your own garden to survive and thrive in the heat:
◆ Mulching is the best way to help keep moisture in the soil and improve its overall water-holding capacity. If done in early spring months, it helps to keep in the moisture ready for the summer sun.
◆ Collect rainwater, when possible. This can be done with simple collection tanks and either used with a watering can on the garden, or with an automatic watering system like ours at Tintinhull.
◆ Water the roots, not the leaves, getting the water to where the plants need it. This can be done with a wat
