Grow Green Guide - Gardening Tips

Reducing Water Use

Region-wide watering regulations are in effect from May 1 to October 15, regardless of weather conditions. But don't despair. Your lawn and garden can look great, even when water regulations are in place. Choosing local, drought-resistant plants, adapting your watering routine, and utilizing water conservation tools are just some of the ways you can reduce your water consumption during peak periods and still enjoy a beautiful, sustainable garden.

Reducing outdoor watering needs is an important part of the Grow Green approach. Here are some solutions to get you started:

Let your lawn go brown – brown is the new green when it comes to summertime lawns. Your grass needs as little as 2 cm of water every week to stay green, so letting it take a rest is one of the easiest ways to reduce water use. An hour of rain or watering per week is all you need for a healthy lawn.
Get a spring-loaded nozzle for watering – an easy way to control your water usage. A nozzle or watering can are both better solutions than just letting water run straight from the hose when it's not being applied to garden areas.
Break up the surface of soil before watering – hardened soil won’t let the water through.
Mulch key shrubs and gardens – plants protected by mulch require less frequent watering. Adding a layer of material like wood or bark chips, leaves, grass clippings, or compost, can preserve moisture by reducing soil temperature, sheltering the ground from drying winds, and slowing the rate of evaporation from the soil.
Pull containers into the shade – on hot summer days, pull containers or planters into the shade to avoid the afternoon sun.
Use a rain barrel – rain barrels connected to your roof downspouts harvest water that would otherwise end up in storm sewers. Combine rain barrels with a drip irrigation system and you can reduce your water requirements, spend less time watering, and keep plants healthy at the same time. (Some Metro Vancouver municipalities offer special deals on rain barrel purchases to encourage rainwater collection, so be sure to check with your City Hall to see what's on offer.)
Use grey water (re-use water from sinks and tubs) – you can collect grey water from the kitchen, laundry, shower, and/or bath for re-use in your garden. A super-simple way? Keep a bucket handy to collect the 'waiting-to-warm-up' water from the hot water tap that might otherwise go down the drain.

Additional Resources

Tips to Conserve Water at Home
For Metro Vancouver's Waterwise tips and how-to videos.

Lawn Watering Regulations
Learn about region-wide watering regulations, which are an effective way to help us use our drinking water wisely.

Rainfall Calculator
Estimate how much water you can collect with a rain barrel by entering the dimensions of your roof.

More Ideas for Less Lawn
Design ideas and landscaping suggestions to help you swap out thirsty lawn space for usable outdoor living space and drought-resistant landscaping.

Creating Habitat for Birds and Pollinators

Creating a Grow Green Garden in your yard is good for animal species such as birds, pollinators, and small mammals. In turn, those species can act as natural pest control, getting rid of other creatures that can damage your lawn and garden. In addition, when you landscape with native plants you are helping create habitat corridors – giving these creatures areas that provide food and nesting habitat. Here are some tips to help you keep wildlife in mind when you design your garden:

To support bird life in your garden, choose flowers that bring seeds, nuts and fleshy fruit.
Choose a diverse array of early blooming plants, berries, fall foliage and other plantings that offer year-round support to local species.
Plants with wide open flowers provide easy access to nectar and pollen. A diverse community of plants will provide continuous resources from early spring to fall. Hard working pollinators in Metro Vancouver include bumble bees, sweat bees, mining bees, hairy-belly bees, and honey bees, as well as flies, wasps, butterflies, beetles and birds.
Some of our regional pollinators' favourite plants include: Oregon grape, Red Osier dogwood, snowberry, salal, and thimbleberry. Some garden plants to consider: Ceanothus, campanula, pieris, rhododendron, calendula, and hebe.
If you have the space, grow plants in groups of three to five to help attract pollinators. A combination of evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, grasses, vines and perennials/flowers are best for pollinating animals like bees, butterflies, beetles, flies and hummingbirds.
Provide a shallow water dish with perching stones in your yard for birds.
Leave an undisturbed area of plants and fallen leaves in your garden and open areas of soil for nesting, mud-puddling, sheltering, and overwintering birds.
Avoid pesticides – Your outdoor spaces can be healthy and vibrant without the use of pesticides, which are linked to negative health and environmental impacts.

Additional Resources

Canadian Wildlife Federation
The CWF website offers a number of resources in their Gardening 101 section – to help you create a beautiful garden that also meets the needs of wildlife.

Wild and Managed Pollinators: Current Status and Strategies to Increase Diversity
This report describes the benefits pollinators provide to humans and wildlife, evaluates the current state of pollinator populations and main drivers behind pollinator decline, compares contributions of and interactions among managed (honey bees) and wild pollinators, and provides strategies to mitigate the negative impacts threatening pollinator populations.

Healthy Soil and Compost Tips

Without healthy soil, your garden can’t thrive. But with the right mix of minerals, nutrients, organic matter, and microscopic fauna, you’ll have lush, productive plants and fewer problems with pests and disease. Creating healthy soil is a balancing act - combining good drainage with moisture retention, ensuring the pH level is neutral rather than acidic or alkaline, and making sure there’s enough nutrients and organic matter. Compost is the key to improving the soil in your green garden. It’s also a great way to re-purpose materials like lawn clippings, dead leaves, and food waste. If you are pressed for space, consider a worm composter. It’s a compact and efficient way to compost in your garage, basement, or apartment balcony.

Additional Resources

Composting in the Garden

Here's the Dirt: Backyard Composting

Worm Composting

Nutrifor Landscaping Soil
Nutrifor™ Landscaping Soil is a locally produced, highly fertile topsoil that is perfectly suited for a full range of landscaping projects, from flower beds to lawns to native vegetation and trees. Nutrifor Landscaping Soil is a blend of high-quality woodchips, sand and Metro Vancouver biosolids. To find out how to obtain Nutrifor Landscaping Soil, email Nutrifor@metrovancouver.org or phone 604-432-6200.