The Function Of Water
Let's take a look at water and how it can best be utilised in a garden. Water is essential for life, and every form of life needs water; water can be a gas, liquid, or solid, depending on the current atmospherical attributes. Water is much more than just a simple combination of hydrogen and oxygen; and water usually contains much more than these two elements. Take any sample of water to a lab and they will be able to identify many other contents in that same water; from minerals, salts, contaminates, microbes, and many other things. At first sight most water just looks the same, but on closer inspection it becomes evident that this is far from the truth. All water is definitely not the same.
Water is the keeper of life, that being said, it is important to use the best water possible, if you intend for it to have its full effect. Go to any supermarket and you can see many choices of bottled water, some very expensive, and some are cheap as chips, and then you can get water for free from the tap outside, or from a puddle, drains, rivers, and lakes; just look up on a cloudy day and you may be able to taste some rain water descending from the clouds.
The way you look at water and the environment, should be similar to the way you look at water and your self; you need to drink water, and it needs to be good quality water. Your body also needs to conserve and best utilise that water inside your body in between the intervals that you consume it. For example, if you where trapped on a desert island in the middle of a scorching hot summer, with only limited water, you would not go and run a marathon. Instead you would find the best way to conserve the water you already had inside your body and figure out how to utilise the little water supply you had until you are rescued or it rains again, or even try to harvest water some way; instead of being in the hot sun and exerting your self, you would find shade and wait out the hot part of the day, not run a marathon and risk causing serious damage to your health. If you are smart with the way you manage your water intake you can stay healthy and vibrant no mater what you do. The same idea is true regarding a garden and its water needs.
Water keeps gardens alive, good water keeps gardens healthy, and correct water use keeps gardens vibrant. The same is true with the human body. In this blog we are going to have a brief look at some principles, regarding water and how to keep a garden vibrant, through the proper management and utilisation of water.
First of all, the best water for your garden is rain water. This is because it goes through an ionisation process along with other characteristics which make it much better than anything from your garden hose; so this is the water you want to be utilising first and foremost. For various reasons, irrigation should be used and viewed as a last resort, as a top up, to get you through the long dry times, not the main source of water.
If you need to water your garden everyday, chances are something is wrong, and usually at least part of the problem can be fixed fairly easily. Look at it this way; if a plant is in nature and in its natural environment, it doesn’t receive rain everyday and it doesn’t just die when it stops raining, so if this is the case we need to ask why is this. Essentially, when you water a plant you are just imitating rain.
So what if it doesn’t rain? Or what if the rain doesn’t reach the garden? Well, eventually it will rain, and when it does you will want to have your garden set up so it can catch and distribute as much of that rain as possible, and then utilise it in the most efficient way; through storing, recycling and reducing it's need as much as possible.
A great way to do this is to first look at the area where the garden is, or where it is going to be, and ask the question, is it easy for rain to access the garden directly, remembering rain doesn’t always fall straight down. If the answer is no, you will need to look at why this is.
If it is because of structures, obstructing the rain, that can no be moved, such as buildings, walls, awnings etc, you will need to look at redirecting the rain, and we will look at this shortly. But if it is because of things that can be moved or taken away for example pruning or lopping trees, and moving plants etc, you will need to way up your odds and see if it is better to change the garden or to just redirect water; this will be your choice, considering all the aspects and specific circumstances. Basically it breaks down like this, is it easier to move the garden or move the obstacle and do what best suits your situation. Chances are if you think long enough you will be able make the easiest way the best way.
If neither are easy, or not what you want, for whatever reason then, use redirecting techniques such as the ones described below. Remember these techniques are not a be all and end all, they are basic ideas that can be modified if you know what you are doing. That being said I think they are the best starting point for anyone; I use them personally and so have many great gardeners and landscapers over the centuries.
Water harvesting or catching is the first concept to look at. This can be done in a number of ways, but the main way and easiest way regarding gardening is through catching rain water from trees, shrubs, and other plants and things.
The second concept, distribution, when paired with the first will be a very effective method of keeping your garden in good shape. Distribution regarding garden and water harvesting is distributing the water that was harvested into the desired area. Just like the first step, this needs to be done with foresight and know how, or you will not get the desired effect.
And lastly is utilisation, this concept is about tying the first to concepts together paired with the knowing of how to get the most out of the harvesting and distribution process, as well as using the water most efficiently, that is caught and distributed into the garden.
A good way to recognise these concepts is to look at nature and try to imitate those environments that maintain lush and vibrant growth. Take a rain forest for example, and try to understand how the forest is so effective at harvesting rain, distributing that rain, and how it utilises and conserves that water once it has been distributed into the forest.
The three principles are key in having a healthy efficient garden and they will be looked at in a deeper way in the following blogs. For now take the time to contemplate them, and look and see if you can notice these three principles in your own, or any garden you see. If you understand these principles and can apply them correctly, you will be rewarded in ways you can’t even imagine, and you are well on your way to becoming a great gardener as your understanding of one more key aspects of nature will be enhanced greatly; that is a very valuable thing to have gained.
Stay tuned in if this topic interests you as we will be delving much deeper into the subject in the following blogs.