Sustainable Gardens
The average household water use spent on garden and lawn watering varies from state to state. It varies from about half of average water use in Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, ACT to around a third of water use in NSW and Victoria. That’s about 50,000 litres to 140,000 litres per household.
Changing the way we plant and water our gardens can have extremely positive impacts on the health of our rivers and the broader environment. Australia's excessive demand for water means that we have to build more dams in environmentally sensitive areas and develop more infrastructure for water storage and use. This can upset the natural balance of particular habitats and also costs taxpayers a lot of money.
Our gardens can also contribute to greenhouse pollution through decaying garden and household waste in landfill. The average Australian garden and household waste produces around 550 kilograms of greenhouse pollution each year.
Australians are passionate gardeners and there’s no reason why we can't continue to enjoy our gardens without unnecessary strain on our natural resources. We need to make sure that our gardens are beautiful, productive and efficient. This means creating a garden that is well-suited to Australia's natural cycles.
By taking a few simple steps to save water in our gardens, Australians can take the pressure off our local rivers. We can also plant more local species to provide habitat for native animals and keep our gardens chemical free.
GreenHome Frankston & Dromana series
Claire and her family have got green living in the bag!
The first two GreenHome workshop series in Victoria’s Westernport region are now complete. Around 240 residents of Frankston and Dromana and surrounding areas attended.
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Top 5 tips
1. Grow a healthy, non-toxic garden
Try some of the following methods to improve the health of your soil and control pests... more »
2. Plant less lawn, more plants
The types of lawn and plants you choose can impact upon your water usage... more »
3. Plant Australian natives
Australian gardens can create homes for native birds and insects... more »
4. Use water wisely
There are many ways to reduce the amount of water we waste... more »
5. Design your garden for water efficiency
Think about the lay-out of your garden and how to maximise water efficiency... more »