The importance of water for plants

The selection of plants that make up our garden will always be based on the climatic-environmental conditions of the area in which we will install the garden.

We will take into account the following criteria:

• Always use autochthonous or live species because they are adapted
• Group plants according to water needs, for example in the middle of a flower bed of seasonal flowers that need a higher consumption of water, plants with lower water needs may not go as aromatic (moderate or low consumption)
• The lawn can be replaced by upholstery plants or horizontally branched shrub plants with which tablecloths are formed to cover the ground. In this way, water consumption and maintenance are reduced, erosion is avoided, they are always green and give a note of color when they flower.
• It is necessary to avoid many specimens of the same species, the diversity of plant species is one of the foundations of sustainable gardening, thus preventing a pest from spreading too much, and at the same time, the diversity of species favors the existence of predators from pests. It also helps create environments more similar to those found in nature.
  

efficient irrigation

A garden must have efficient irrigation, hence the importance of irrigation programmers , which apart from facilitating our work, help to economize as much as possible on water, study the needs of plants and that the types of systems are the most suitable. The garden will be divided into three zones according to the amount of water needed and this will be programmed through the irrigation programmers:

• Low consumption areas: it will only be watered in the stage immediately after transplanting. Once the implantation is done, the plants in this area have to survive with the rainfall of the area (palm trees, cacti, succulent plants, etc.). The implantation can last two or three months approximately
• Areas of moderate consumption: in this sector it will be watered only in dry periods and when plants show stress (it is identified because the leaves lose texture, etc.) the great majority of shrub and arboreal plants are included in this category
• High consumption areas: this area is intended for seasonal plants (geraniums, cyclamens, pansies, petunias, etc.)
  

it is not necessary to reserve it only for the implantation period, it is also suitable in areas of moderate consumption, therefore we will equip the garden with enough hydrants, this will be effective from the point of view of saving.

It is important, when watering manually you have to make sure that the water has penetrated into the soil. If only the surface is wetted, the roots will tend to develop close to the surface, drying more quickly when watering is stopped.

• Collect water from roofs
• Channel the water into the garden to take it to the areas that need it most
• Tidy up bushy plant surfaces to prevent falling water from escaping from flower beds
• Do not water if it has rained
• Try not to water when it's sunny

It is a kind of cushion, similar to the natural mantle that exists in forests, with which the area to which it is applied is naturalized, aesthetics and soil conditions are improved; It is used in flower beds or groups of shrubs, it manages to conserve humidity better since it avoids direct contact of the ground and the air with the ground. We can use different types of organic material: straw, pruning remains, leaves, pine bark , etc.

It is a material that is designed to meet some needs:

• Prevents loss of surface water, conserves moisture.
• It softens the temperature of the soil, in winter it increases the temperature and in summer it decreases it.
• Avoid the reflection of heat from the soil to the plants.
• Prevents the formation of the crust, maintains a lower compaction index of the soil.
• It has ornamental value.
• Decreases the action of the wind.
• Limits the growth of unwanted herbs.

In any case, the three most important reasons for using padding are: conserve moisture, make it difficult for weeds to appear, and save scaling operations.
In many Mediterranean plants, with few nutritional requirements, the same decomposition of the mulching materials already provides the necessary nutrients to live and it will only be necessary to replace the layer as it decreases. Fertilization can also be reinforced by adding a little compound before replacing the layer.
Because it is effective it must have a thickness of about 5 cm. Before placing the pad, scale or dig and remove weeds, as effective as possible.
Inorganic mulchings ( expanded clay, engraving, gravels ... ) are also used especially on succulent plants and cacti that prevent excess moisture from affecting the neck of the plant, thus being warmer and drier.