Climate Change Garden

Clean-up Brigade

All water – even stuff that flows down the drain - is a valuable commodity. If your garden is large enough you might be able to take a trick from nature and use plants to clean up water from your bath, or even from your toilet, so that it can be reused on your garden.

At Chelsea 2007, the Marshalls’ Sustainability garden included small reed beds that act like filters. The idea is that “grey” water from baths or sinks flows in at one end, and the plants help purify it. With enough time and space this sort of natural filtration can produce perfectly clean water – and support plenty of wildlife at the same time. Reeds From Seeds offer plants, equipment and support for a domestic reed bed.

Move It

Once you’ve collected that precious rainwater, you should make sure you use it in the most efficient manner. Technology can help here, thanks to solar-powered pumps and smart water sensors that can get the water where it’s needed without waste.

The gold-medal winning Chetwoods Garden at Chelsea 2007 showed off this technology in style. It featured a huge flower with petals coated with solar panels. When the garden is too dry, the petals open, generating electricity that pumps water where it’s needed. For similar technology on a smaller scale, try Gardena’s irrigation systems.
Image credit David Churchill.

A Lot of Rot

Composting is a must – this not only reduces the amount of waste you’ll be dumping, but the excellent compost you create can be used as a mulch on the garden. This makes a water permeable layer on the soil, letting rain in but helping to reduce water losses by evaporation, adding nutrient back to the soil and suppressing the growth of weeds too. Choose from the compost bins like this one at Greenfingers Trading.