5 tips for drought-smart gardening

By Tina Mast, Correspondent
The garden year is defined by many words and, as circumstances change, they change, too. This year's garden word, it pretty much goes without saying, is "drought."

At this point, that's no revelation, but as the buds burst on the dogwoods and green tips push up through the soil, many of us are considering how we want to garden in this year of water restrictions and drought-weakened gardens. Here are a few ideas for getting by when the going gets dry.

First, find some way to collect rain water. You have options at all price points. Whether you piggy back a bunch of retrofitted garbage cans together, buy pre-fabricated rain barrels, or have an above or below ground cistern installed, you can and should try to collect water. Even if you don't plan on doing a lot of planting, your existing plants may be quite weakened from the drought last year and will be much more susceptible to giving up the ghost this year.

In your container gardens, use water-holding granules or mats. The mats can be cut to fit containers, placed in the bottom, and planted over. During the heat of summer, it's helpful to keep saucers under your containers so that when it rains or you water, you have a little reservoir of water for the plants to draw from over the coming days. Deep saucers are even better than the standard shallow ones for this. This is a temporary technique, however. Do this in winter or during a wet season and you could have plants rot out on you if you don't dump the excess water periodically.

Many people are asking about drought-tolerant plants, and with good reason. Just bear in mind that, with few exceptions, drought-tolerant plants are not drought-tolerant the first year in the ground. If you plant them this year, make plans to water them regularly, too. Next year they'll reward you with their toughness and durability (probably just in time for a record wet year).

Make sure you get a nice 3-inch layer of mulch layered over your garden beds, as well. Mulch isn't just a nice way to pretty up the garden; no, mulch is your friend. It will help keep water from evaporating from the soil. It will smother emerging weeds. It will help keep soil and soil-borne diseases from splashing back up onto plants during what we hope will be frequent rainstorms. It will keep plant roots cooler in the heat of summer and nice 'n' toasty during winter.

It won't keep you from accidentally digging up your heirloom snowdrops as you try to find a place to squeeze in another plant or tell you where you last left your pruning shears, but other than that it's got you, dare we say it, covered.

Finally, don't hang up the trowel because we're having a drought. Gardens feed the soul, exercise the body, delight the senses, provide a place of respite, and give sustenance and shelter to the local wildlife (OK, so that includes voles and snakes). It's a fact, not a maybe, that there will always be some obstacle to overcome. So, as spring dons her rainbow attire, don't resist the urge the get out in your garden and get dirty. Go forth and dig!