Adapting to the dry

Reducing water usage in the garden is about embracing plants that can survive in drier conditions, finds Louise Frampton. She talks to gardeners in Allanton and Earnscleugh about how they manage without regular watering.

In Allanton, Glenda and Michael Bowen’s Grey St garden is admired by many locals who pull off from the main highway into the settlement.

Bordering the street, the Bowen’s front garden sweeps around the lawn where low-growing plants cascade down a bank at the front of the property and taller elements offer privacy nearer the house.

Allanton, 20km southwest of Dunedin, by the turnoff to the Dunedin airport, is not on town water supply. Instead, residents have their own tanks filled by rain water from the roof. Like other rural settlements, this makes residents acutely aware of their water usage.

Mrs Bowen has designed her garden to require little watering.

She says the only time she waters is when she is establishing new plants or cuttings.

"When I’m getting something going, I will water a little bit.

"But, you have to think of plants that survive a drought," she says.

And she has clearly thought about this with her garden design.

When the Bowens moved into the property about 10 years ago, the front lawn sloped down into a ditch along the roadside. Mrs Bowen says it was too hard to safely mow or to use a weedeater in this area, so she added a low rock border and planted low-maintenance plants such as osteospermums (African daisies), gazanias, arctotis and grevillea that have a cascading nature to block out the weeds.

Then miniature flaxes were added to provide year-round colour, hebes and dwarf rhododendrons which flourish in spring.

Closer to the house there are taller plants which screen the outdoor seating area from the road.

Here, there are flowering cherries, a hydrangea, a purple-blue penstemon and the striking Acanthus mollis (bear’s breeches) with its tall spiky blooms which grows between the rocks and boulders.

Mrs Bowen jokes about the time she first asked her husband to bring home some "rocks" for the garden. He initially brought home ones that were too small, so she rephrased her description to "boulders" and he returned with some about 1m high which required a 22-tonne digger to manoeuvre them safely into place.

The effort was clearly worth it, as these rocks and boulders now give the garden its striking identity.

Having loved gardening since she was about 15 years old, Mrs Bowen, now retired, clearly has green-fingers. She says she tries to propagate as many plants as she can, especially plants such as creeping phlox which is a good ground cover with a mass of flowers in late spring.

Another plant she propagates is the "Cream Delight" miniature flax.

"I love that cream with the green running through it," she says.

Mrs Bowen says it is not just a matter of selecting plants that do well in dry conditions, they also have to be frost hardy. Some plants such as ice plants, that she originally grew nearer the road, had to be moved closer to the house in raised beds, where they were more protected in the winter.

Further inland, in Earnscleugh, Cathy Robertson is also selective with her watering. Mrs Robertson and her husband Steve live on a 2ha property with naturally rocky terrain which also has a pond, a few sheep, and accommodation which they rent out.

They have access to water, but with such a large area to look after, Mrs Robertson chooses to be selective about what gets watered and prefers to embrace the natural rocky Central Otago landscape where she can.

The sweeping driveway is lined with cherry trees leading to the house where a garden full of lilies, roses and irises curves around the lawn from which gravel paths lead off, meandering through the rocky terrain.

Growing conditions are tough in the Earnscleugh area. Apart from the climate extremes — from 30°C plus in summer to freezing conditions in winter — the area has very little soil, making planting between the rocks more challenging.

At this time of year the plants that thrive include purple-flowering Verbena bonariensis, lavender, wild thyme and smoke bush.

"They [smoke bush] are popular up here [in Central] because they do like the conditions.

"There’s virtually no soil in some areas, but smoke bush seeds all over the place," Mrs Robertson says.

The lilies and irises flourish on the property, putting on a stunning display in spring and early summer. The bulbs and rhizomes survive the dry conditions well and store nutrients for the next season.

Recently, though, the Robertsons have set up trickle irrigation for the nine Prunus Serrulata "Shirotae" (Mt Fuji cherry) which line the driveway.

"They were starting to drop [leaves] and change colour several months ago. With more consistent watering they have picked up."

Her interest in gardening started from a young age where she remembers her mother "disappearing to work in the compost heap and not returning until we did dinner".

Mrs Robertson has continued this compost-making tradition, using the nutrient-rich organic matter to help get plants started among the rocky habitat and Mr Robertson uses it to build up the vege garden, which is caged to keep out the rabbits.

"There are usually about four on the lawn each morning and more in the lower paddock," Mrs Robertson says of the ravenous pests.

But despite its challenges, the Robertsons say they love the location, and have clearly made the garden work for them.