In the garden with Shobha Vanchiswar
My rain barrel
April 25, 2008
“I hardly ever water my flower beds. I fully expect the plants to be hardy where they are. If they demand too much then I have the wrong plants.”
To paraphrase Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
Water, water everywhere
and all the plants did drink
Water, water elsewhere
and all the plants did shrink.
As I write this article, it is a rainy, dull day and water seems an unlikely subject. Hardly worth bothering about. But, we know better don’t we? In the past few years, we’ve become acutely aware that we’ve had either too much or too little rain. Our water sources have become suspect and we’ve scrambled to attach filters to our taps.
In Chappaqua, we are indeed fortunate to have perfectly potable water. We know now to conserve water: turn off the tap whilst brushing teeth, take showers instead of baths, et cetera. So, when it comes to the garden, what can we do? Plenty.
First and foremost, our green swathes of lawn are major water guzzlers. Lawns consume too much fertilizer and are a very high maintenance feature. I recommend Michael Pollan’s book “Second Nature” for an excellent read on that subject. We would all do well to shrink our lawn areas and expand the flower beds, add more trees and shrubs. You will in due course appreciate how this frees up your time and money.
Then, when it comes to the plants in the garden, native plants are more resilient and require less watering and coddling. There are drought resistant plants well worth considering. You could use “gray” water to water the garden. This is water collected from bath, washing machine and kitchen use. I know this takes some effort and getting used to. Also, we here in the northeast have not as yet felt the pressure as other parts of the country. I confess, I do not use gray water except the water used for boiling vegetables/eggs/pasta. But we will have to consider this option if water shortage becomes the norm. Every little effort at recycling water goes a long way.
Finally, install a rain barrel. There are many choices today that can be found at garden centers and through catalogs. I myself use an old oak barrel. It blends in nicely in the garden. In a previous life the barrel held red wine. Took two years before the collected rain water ran clear! The plants, however, did not mind the wine-tinged water.
Our rain barrel is positioned near a down spout which is fitted with a feature that diverts the water into the barrel. When the barrel is full, the down spout functions its usual way. From the water barrel, you can water all the pots and flower beds. This method requires some work compared to the convenience of turning on the hose but all things worth doing require effort. With less lawn and use of rain water, you will find yourself using your hose/sprinklers less frequently.
For myself, I do not water the lawn unless it is freshly seeded or we have really suffered with lack of rain. In the case of drought, I still debate about watering. A lawn splotchy with brown is not the end of the world and I’d rather focus on saving precious plants.
I hardly ever water my flower beds. I fully expect the plants to be hardy where they are. If they demand too much then I have the wrong plants. I water only the plants in pots and here is where the rain barrel comes in handy.
For those concerned with mosquitoes breeding in a body of standing water, fear not. There are “mosquito dunks” which are safe for plants, birds, animals and people but deadly to mosquitoes. The dunks prevent the mosquito eggs from hatching.
It is time for us all to make a concentrated and concerted effort to be responsible gardeners. We may not see the good effects in our time but the knowledge that generations from now will continue to enjoy the earth should be adequate satisfaction. Stewardship of the land is what I’m talking about.
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