Gardeners to tough out dry spell

WITH meteorologists predicting another bout of El Nino weather conditions, many of the Central West’s gardeners are bunkering down for another long and hot summer.

Due to rising temperatures in the Pacific Ocean the trade winds responsible for rainfall across Eastern Australia have weakened.

"After the last El Nino, the regions suffered from a lack of significant rainfall, so we are in an even worse position heading into the current phase," meteorologist Matt Pearce said.

"While we can still expect the odd heavy rain event, generally these events will be less frequent and there will be much drier conditions on average for the rest of the year and into summer."

With such dim forecasts, regional environmental groups are advising communities to increase their water-wise behaviour, especially in the garden.

Longreach couple Alun Hoggett and Vanessa Bailey have taken it upon themselves to create a colourful native garden, despite the fact that the region is experiencing drought conditions.

"The biggest user of water in a garden is the lawn," Alun said.

"So we sat down and really thought about how much lawn we actually needed.
"We realised we only needed a little bit – out the front and round the back – to keep us satisfied."

Alun and Vanessa’s environmentally friendly abode is situated on a quarter acre block and with only a few square metres of lush grass taking up the space, the couple tackled the next problem: filling in the gaps.

"Quite a lot of the area is filled with mulch, like stones and woodchips," Alun said.

"People often think that when they design a native, water-wise garden that they have to fill it up with garden beds and trees, but we have left quite a large area covered with woodchips as an area to play with the dogs."

Featuring native plants and trees including eremophilas, cassias, salt bushes, mulgas, brigalow, lancewood and tea trees, Alun and Vanessa have used the local landscape as inspiration for their garden.

"We have planted a wide range of plants that are native to Western Queensland," Vanessa said.

"We have got about 20 different types of eremophilas planted in our garden.
"They are a really beautiful plant, suited to this environment. Each species has a different coloured flower, ranges from silver to green in leaf colour, and can be a shrub or a tree."

"The mistake people make is that they plant ‘native species’ that are found in the coastal regions," Alun added. "You need to look at your local plants, the ones that are found in your region."

A more traditional garden, with introduced species, tends to require plenty of hours weeding and watering, however with a native garden, Alun and Vanessa believe they can have both an attractive and environmentally-friendly garden for very little effort.

"It takes a bit to set up, but in the long run there is little maintenance," Vanessa said.

"We have used patterns of rock and mulch, pathways and plants to break things up, with variations in rock colour and plant foliage."

And while most gardens are set to wither with the ensuing El Nino weather pattern, Vanessa has every confidence their quarter-acre patch will survive.

"We went away for three months and we had no plant losses.

"Mainly because they are trained to be more tolerant through infrequent watering and timed dripper systems that deliver water locally, forcing the roots to grow deep.
"This also reduces water spreading that can encourage weed growth.
"The lawn has a timer and conservative watering, forcing it to be more hardy and deep-rooted."

Information about how to create and maintain a water wise garden is available from Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ)on 4658 0600 or the Environmental Protection Agency on 4652 7333.