Water Saving Techniques for Your Garden

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How can we conserve water while maintaining healthy, attractive gardens, no matter what climate you're in? Record-breaking heat waves, devastating droughts, wildfires scorching millions of acres, floods turning streets into rivers—we've seen it all this year. As climate extremes test our resilience, our gardens are feeling the impact too. How do we ensure our gardens not only survive but also grow in these unpredictable conditions? Let’s talk about water-saving techniques and strategies to keep your garden lush and sustainable with Noelle Johnson, aka the “Arizona plant lady.” She’s a horticulturist, landscape consultant, and the author of the new book, ‘The Water-Smart Garden.’

In this episode, we learn:

[02:53] How Noelle became a plant expert
[04:36] Why water conservation is important
[07:27] What does water conservation look like?
[08:27] Identifying drought conditions
[09:56] Water-saving tips for renters
[10:49] What are the plants great for different plant zones?
[13:43] Drought-tolerant plants
[15:28] Espoma Organics’ premium gardening products
[16:58] AHS Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening
[18:52] Why you should go to a local nursery
[20:34] Making soil more efficient at water retention
[23:32] How mulch and ground cover help with water retention
[26:36] What are ollas for water saving?
[30:46] What are different ways of saving rainwater? (rain barrel, swale, creek beds, etc)
[36:32] What is xeriscaping?
[40:33] How can you reduce the water your lawn needs?
[44:14] Smart irrigation controllers
[45:30] Beginner tips for water conservation
[47:20] Advanced water conservation strategies
[49:14] ’The Water Smart Garden’

Mentioned in our conversation:

For Noelle's complete list of water-saving tips,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

Follow Noelle:

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Quarto: American Horticultural Society Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening

Grab a copy of Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening at your favorite local bookstore, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Quarto.com, or Amazon.com.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Do you feel like no matter what you do, your plants aren't thriving exactly the way you would
0:04.8	had hoped this year? I see you, plant friend, and I've got you. At this point, I've spoken to
0:09.4	thousands of our plant friends. And I have noticed three key mistakes that beginner plant parents
0:14.8	tend to make that can cause heartbreak over losing a plant that you love, confusion around
0:20.4	what to do when there's so
0:21.8	much conflicting advice on the internet, and the fact that plant care isn't intuitive anymore,
0:26.0	and abandonment of their plant passion. And a lot of times you don't even realize you're doing it.
0:31.3	You don't even realize you're making the mistake. And that's the most heartbreaking part.
0:34.9	And I don't want you heartbroken plant friend. I want you happy and thriving and growing joy alongside your lushest houseplants.
0:41.0	That's why I'm hosting a free live online class called the three biggest mistakes holding
0:46.3	you back from thriving houseplants and how to fix them.
0:48.6	And I want you there.
0:50.5	In just an hour, I'm going to show you the top three mistakes I see the plant parents
0:54.4	in our community making and how to not just avoid them, but how to confidently care for your
0:58.9	plants with ease. So spots are limited and frankly, they're selling out really quickly.
1:02.7	They're totally free. So grab yours at growingjoy with Maria.com slash class.
1:08.1	That's growing joy with Maria.com slash class. We currently have four time slots available.
1:13.5	I can't wait to see you there.
1:21.5	This year we've really seen it all. Record-breaking heat waves, devastating droughts, wildfires,
1:26.9	scorching millions of acres and floods
1:29.2	turning streets into rivers. As climate extremes test our resilience, our gardens are going to be
1:34.9	feeling that impact too. The way we water, the way we plant and design our outdoor spaces has
	...

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