Tag: Water

Attention all small-space, bedless green fingers! Here’s your chance to grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, and foliage without a garden. Take your passion to the walls and grow your heart out with these nifty vertical gardening ideas. Bring your patio to life, suspend your edibles, dare to go soil-less, and have some fun with hanging baskets.

Geometric Greenery

A bare patio or balcony wall is prime location to begin your first vertical gardening project. You’ll need a drill and screws to secure pots against the wall in your desired shape/layout. Try an elegant symmetrical grid style, leaving a pot-width space between each container (4 pots across by 4 pots down is a good start). You can also experiment with circle pot arrangements, horizontal lines, or a diagonal pattern with cascading creepers in the top pots.

Plant picks: 'Compact Royal Jewels' Lobelia for a flowering spiller, English Ivy for dramatic trails of leaves, and 'Versa Green Halo' Coleus for an exotic-looking mound.

Soil-less Hydroponics

Dare to be different with an intriguing water-based, soil-less garden. Hydroponic planting gives you complete control of the environment, minimises pests, boosts plant growth, saves water, eliminates weeds, AND gives you eye-catching, living décor. There are a variety of hydroponic growing kits available, not only for vertical growing. Consult your garden centre advisor for different installation options and nutrient formulas.

Plant picks: Almost all herbs, leafy veggies such as celery and lettuce, fruits such as Key limes and avocados, and indoor ornamentals such as Philodendron, Peace Lily, Chinese Evergreen, and Spider Plant.

Hanging Around

Hanging baskets are ideal space-savers that add texture and life to baren corners, on the patio or indoors. Use a chain to hang containers from the roof (climbing plants will play up the chain and spill over the edges), or try half baskets attached to the wall with an added trellis behind them for trailing plants.

Embrace bedless gardening and embark on a creative container adventure, right on your stoep!

Who said that beds make the garden? Well, no one, actually! And that’s great news for the balcony, stoep, and patio gardener. You can still enjoy all the glory of gardening by playing with pots, experimenting with the colour wheel, using vertical planters, and adding a few fabulous blooms.

Container gardening

Using different sized and shaped containers add height and variety to the space, while also giving you an opportunity to play with different styles. Incorporating hanging baskets is another simple way of adding greenery to areas with limited space. Using woven baskets (instead of plastic) with spikey foliage will bring in some lovely texture. Spend some time in the pots and basket section next time you’re at the nursery and see what jumps out at you!

*Play away: Try using cute teapots or gumboots as planters to add a little character and fun to your space.

*Go green: You could upcycle cans to use as pots and decorate as desired to suit your existing décor (this is a fun one for kids too).

*Top tip: Ensure your planting containers have good drainage to avoid root rot.

Get your patio blooming

A great way to bring in more life to your patio paradise is by planting gorgeous, blossoming blooms. Imagine a couple of flower pots neatly arranged along the lonely stoep wall or outdoor windowsill. Any available space is an opportunity for flowers to flourish. Get this lush look by using the Thriller, Filler, and Spiller (TFS) concept to create the ultimate flower pot.

*Try this - TFS: One upright focal point plant as your Thriller, a mounded plant as the Filler around it, and then something to trail over the edge as your splendid Spiller.

It’s holiday season, and a jolly good reason to celebrate! Live life to the fullest surrounded by the ones you love and a gorgeous garden to host them all in. Life is a Garden’s got a fully loaded, super fun summer entertaining and planting guide to get you in the spirit of things this December.

Warm welcomes

Wet vines from the garden can be transformed into gorgeous decorative wreaths, which you can secure onto your front door. Try ivy varieties, grapevine, and big num num (Carissa macrocarpa) with ornamental grass strands that’ll maintain colour for longer too. Add to the friendly vibes by adding a textured welcome mat available from your GCA Garden Centre.

Try this: Once you’ve gotten a solid run from your wreath, tie it onto a tree branch and hang some birdseed feeders from it.

Eternal sunshine

Solar lights are the best-kept fun secrets this summer. Light up your pathways with lanterns, accentuate your trees with spiralled fairy lights, and make the patio pop with spotlights highlighting your gorgeous container beauts. Solar jars are also a sure win, to which you can add glass stones for extra sparkle. Solar jars look super magical when added to fairy gardens and scattered around beds.

Always lit tip: Wrap battery-operated fairy lights around your front door DIY wreath for added evening ambience as guests arrive.

Inquisitive kids

Keep the kids entertained and educated with a ‘Find that bug’ quest. You can easily create a printable worksheet for your kids and their friends listing the goggas to be discovered in your garden. Alternatively, there are several local apps to be downloaded, which kids can use to identify their discoveries. Why not get them all to give a fun little presentation about the bugs afterwards!

Happy house plants

Consider playing with poinsettia (Christmas star) and amaryllis (Christmas flower) as part of your festive décor prep.

When you’re a gardener, pool parties are all about the plants! Transform your backyard into a palm beach or rolling grassland, and how about a tropical paradise or trendy minimalistic look? Whatever your vibe is, Life is a Garden has got the perfect poolside gardening inspiration for your summer entertaining. Choose your theme, pick your plants, and head over to your GCA Garden Centre. Remember to check growing instructions and grab a bag of compost and fertiliser.

Poolside planting – the do’s and don’ts

The last thing you want is to be stressed out by maintenance or constantly needing to replace pool filters because of rotting leaves. Therefore, here are some plants to avoid and factors to consider when creating your poolside paradise.

• Don’t: Plant annuals that shed during autumn, littering the pool and surrounding area.
  • Do: Plant evergreens that are always jolly and low maintenance.

• Don’t: Grow soft fruit trees like plums and apricots that’ll drop and rot around the space.
  • Do: Go for hard-shelled, non-shedding edible trees such as lemons or lychee.

• Don’t: Plant flowers too close to the pool as petals can become a nuisance.
  • Do: Choose evergreen ferns and ornamental grasses that don’t shed.

• Don’t: Grow herbs or lavender that attract bees (if this is a concern for your family).
  • Do: Include a few rocks around for harmless and helpful dragonflies to bask on.

• Don’t: Plant trees with large invasive root systems that may damage pool infrastructure.
  • Do: Rather plant trees in containers to ensure your paving and pool is safe.

Swimmingly elegant themes

Design your ideal backyard and display your expert landscaping skills with one of these gorgeous themes to flow through your space. Planting palms is one of the easiest ways to create a lush, island getaway feel, especially when paired with a boma, some beach sand, and wooden deck chairs.

Step 1: Palm Peat :

Place a Palm Peat brick into a 10l container and add 3l of lukewarm water. Once the Palm Peat has absorbed the water, break it up and squeeze out the excess water. Your Palm Peat is now ready to use. Mix a third of Palm Peat with your potting soil.

Step 2: Hydrocache:

Place one spoon of Hydrocache add to container and add 1l of water. Mix the Hydrocache and water together until it forms a gel.

Step 3: Bonemeal:

Place one handful of Bonemeal into the soil of your hanging basket. Add two handfuls of Palm Peat and three spoons of Hydrocache to your basket and mix together.

Step 4: Kelpak:

Add the bottle of Kelpak (natural liquid seaweed concentrate) to a container together with the same about of water. Dip the roots of the plants into the Kelpak mixture and plant into your basket.

Step 5: Nutrifeed:

Add two spoons of Nutrifeed to a watering can filled with water and stir well. Water the plants in your hanging basket. Repeat every 2 weeks.

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Out the pot and into the ground, simple as that, right? If you would like your plants to thrive there are in fact several important aspects to consider in perfecting the art of transplanting. New additions to the garden can cost a couple of pennies too, so let’s make sure you get all the bloom for your buck. Here is Life is a Garden’s guide on how to properly plant a new plant.

Reading planting instructions  

The information provided on every pot or label at the nursery contains essential information that helps you make an informed decision on what to choose and where to plant. Each container and seed packet indicates:

• Sowing/growing season (when to plant it)
• Position (amount of sun/shade needed)
• Spacing (how far apart they need to be from the next plant)
• Watering guide (how often to water)
• Germination and flowering (how long seeds take to germinate and when they plant flowers)

*Top tip: GCA Garden Centre attendants are both knowledgeable and friendly. They are available to help you choose the best plants for your environment. Ask them for help and they’ll show you which new lovelies are best suited to your needs.

Planting in pots

If you have chosen to grow in a container, here are some simple ways to give your new plant the best head start in life. Remember to ask your garden centre advisor to assist you in choosing the correct potting mix and fertiliser for your plant.

1. Wash your homing pot before transplanting with a gentle disinfecting soap.
2. Ensure there are sufficient drainage holes.
3. Line your planter to keep it clean and help protect plants against mineral deposits and disease. Ask your garden centre advisor about which lining material would be best for your container and plant. Remember to also make drainage holes in the lining.

How delicious it is to be in full spring swing! The November garden is a thrilling spectacle of goeie goggas and the perfect season to begin glam growing. Flyers and pollinators are your best friends (for free), with the lacewing bug leading the pest control pack. Also, we’re really spoilt for choice in the edible sow zone with some extravagant crops to show off with. Pink is popping at the moment too, so be sure to check out Life is a Garden’s selection of blush-worthy trees.

Eco-warrior wall of fame: Lacewings

Dynamite comes in a small package with these extraordinary helpers. They are excellent additions to the garden for pest control and prevention. Adults feed on pollen, nectar, and honeydew, while the larvae are active predators of soft-bodied pests such as aphids, thrips, whitefly, leafhoppers, spider mites and larvae, caterpillars, nymphs, mealybugs and more! After feasting for 2-3 weeks, lacewing larvae spin a cocoon and emerge as adults 10-14 days later. After such a carnivorous upbringing, adults lacewings are converted to veganism, enjoying nectar and helping us by pollinating crops.

Wow-worthy facts

• Known also as aphid lions or wolves, lacewings can gobble up to 100 nasty aphids in a day.
• Grey lacewing larvae are super smart oaks! They camouflage by carrying devoured prey carcasses on their backs.
• Adult lacewings have ears at the base of their wings, allowing them to hear bats’ echolocation signals. They avoid being eaten by closing their wings and appearing smaller.
• Lacewing larvae kill their prey by injecting lethal digestive juices into their meal, dissolving their insides, and then providing our hero with a nutritious, sappige smoothie – lekker!

Welcome lacewings by  

• Planting indigenous.
• Offering a variety of pollen and nectar-rich flowers to choose from (suggestions below).
• Learn how to identify them to avoid accidental harm to these heroes.

We’re obsessed with birds – watching them frolic in the garden, discovering new species in the area, looking forward to returning friends, and enjoying the feeling of fulfilment from helping to care for our wildlife. This DIY is an easy, economical solution to a fancy birdbath, allowing you to go as sophisticated or simple as your budget allows. In addition, Life is a Garden’s pot-posh birdbath gives the DIY enthusiast a real time to shine as there are so many ways to play, design, and decorate. Before we begin, let’s talk about the fabulous featured elephant in the room – birds!

Birds with benefits

• Conservation is everything: First and foremost, as gardeners, we have the power to take conservation into our own hands. Become a wildlife warrior and eco-ambassador by providing a much-needed safe oasis for our flyers threatened by loss of habitat.
• Pest control: Certain bird species will enjoy a tasty snack after their drink. Aphids, scale, mozzies, spiders, flies and other insects are easily taken care of by local heroes such as white-eyes, chats, barbets, thrushes, robins, warblers, shrikes, woodpeckers and hoopoes.
• Pollination deluxe: Some flyers are excellent pollinators, helping to produce even more flowers in your garden, which in turn attracts other essential pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Our indigenous sunbirds, sugarbirds, and Cape white-eyes are at your service.
• Weeds away: South Africa’s waxbills, finches, fire finches, canaries and bronze manikins are seed-snacking winners.
• Property plus: Add value to your property by boasting a colourful variety of wildlife. A bird-attracting garden makes your property more appealing and increases investment value.
• Education: With so many friendly flyers around, take the opportunity to research your local bird species. Educate yourself, loved ones, and the kids!
• Stress relief: Be it morning, midday, or at sunset – watching the birds is always a pleasing and calming activity that promotes well-being and decreases stress.

Life is a Garden! But we know that not all backyards can accommodate large trees. Lucky for all the small space and patio gardeners, this month we’re going back to basics with trees in pots! You can still enjoy a number of tree varieties, even some of the edible ones such as juicy citrus and fig trees. Some classics like the olive and holly tree are also perfect potted treasures that you can grow, regardless of how limited your space may be. Here’s some guidance to get you going. 

The perfect pot for the job 

Choosing your container is an important part of your tree-growing journey. Ultimately, you want a pot that’s large enough to fit the root ball of your tree. The size of your container will determine how big your tree will grow and gives you the advantage of being able to manipulate its size. Drainage is super important to factor in as well, so ensure your pot has many holes for excess water to flow out. Trees don’t tolerate water build-up and this will negatively affect their growth, harvest, and flowers. 

Top pot tip: Before planting your tree, secure the container above ground if possible, then and add a layer of stones or terracotta shards inside the pot for maximum drainage efficiency. Your GCA Garden Centre has an assortment of large containers to choose from as well as handy advice on how to choose the best pot for the job.  

Good soil saves lives 

Now that you’ve been upgraded to potted tree-guardian, it’s your duty to maintain the nutrient integrity inside the container. Soil-based potting mix with an annual slow-release organic fertiliser will work wonders. Refresh the soil each spring by removing the top layer and replacing it with a new layer of enriched compost.

Indoor plants promote good mental health, super Zen vibes, texture, air purification, and something beautiful to appreciate as you go about your day. Life is a Garden, indoors too, and there’s a plant just waiting to bring that side table, desk, and bookshelf to life. Good old potting soil, fertiliser, and a watering routine makes all the difference in maintaining an indoor haven.

Checkout these 5 top tips to perfect the art of indoor gardening:

1. Choose the right plant and place: Start off with an easy plant from our BF (beginner-friendly) suggestions below. Checkout your space and see where’s the gap to be filled. Choose a plant that likes the light conditions of your chosen area.
2. Choose the right pot: Choose a suitable sized pot with good drainage holes and don’t forget the saucer that catches excess water (we’ve all been there, #rookieerror).
3. Get good potting soil: A bag of delicious potting soil goes a long way! Visit your GCA Garden Centre and grab a bag to get you going. Add a couple of small stones to your pot before adding potting soil to help with drainage and root rot prevention.
4. Get to know your new friend: Understand the light, watering, and soil requirements of your plant. Observe how plants react in the space and change their position if needed. Poke your finger into the pot and feel the soil, this will tell you if your plant is ready to be watered. Alternatively, you can also purchase a moisture meter from your nearest GCA Garden Centre.
5. Feed your new friend: Generally speaking, every 6 weeks is a good time to feed. The new plant baby depends on you now to maintain the nutrient integrity inside the pot. Your GCA Garden Centre guy can advise you on the best soil and fertiliser for your plant.

As the last month of summer comes to an end, it’s time to start preparing the garden for autumn and winter growing. March presents ideal conditions for sowing seeds as the day temperatures are still warm enough, while night temperatures begin dropping gradually. This is also a great time for cool-season seed germination varieties, and let’s not forget that much-loved gardening maintenance.

Flowers and foliage

The autumn climate is well-suited for planting as new roots get a chance to establish themselves before spring. Try sowing these lovelies now for a brilliant flush of colour and fragrance:

• African daisy (Dimorphoteca) to beautify beds, borders, and containers.
• Livingstone daisy, known also as Bokbaai vygie (Mesembryanthemum) are colourful customers.
• Virginian stocks (Malcolmia maritima) as an enthusiastic and cheerful bloom.
• Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) to keep pests at bay in the veggie patch.
• Blue Felicia bush (Felicia amelloides) for fast-growing, striking sky-blue flowers.

Sweet peas

Before sowing sweet peas, prepare their new home by digging deep trenches and working in some nutritious compost from your local GCA Garden Centre. Bonemeal (if you don’t have dogs) and super-phosphate are excellent choices to assist in creating your sweet pea sanctuary. Remember to soak the seeds overnight in lukewarm water before sowing directly into the ground.

Roses

Roses are a simply spectacular sight in autumn! To ensure quality blooms into winter, continue with regular preventative treatments/spraying for black spot, beetles and bollworm. As the days get shorter, the roses start to go dormant and withdraw food from their leaves. To compensate for this and to provide enough food for new growth and flowers, fertilise with rose food – your GCA Garden Centre guy can advise you on the best option. Regular watering is very important if there is insufficient rainfall.

Welcome, novice farmers! We are delighted to see your green fingers in bloom, exploring the world of homegrown goodness. Experience for yourself what all the hype is about by starting your own little veggie garden or edible pot. There is something truly special about fresh greens from the Earth – their incredible flavour loaded with nutrients, the direct connection with Mother Nature, and the unbeatable sense of pride from harvesting the fruits of your labour. Find out how to start your own edible journey below.

Humble beginnings

For your first growing quest, we recommend starting small. Think about whether you would like to use containers, plant straight into the ground, or if you would like to make raised beds. Consider your space and available time to guide your growing style. Sowing a couple of seeds in an empty space in your flower bed is as good a beginning as any.

Top tip: Be careful not to overpopulate your space. Your veggies will increase in size and need room to grow and climb. Planting too close together will also cause veggies to shade one another. Refer to your seed packet or handy GCA Garden Centre guy for advice.

Location, location, location

With the idea of starting small in mind, where you choose to grow is an equally important factor to consider. Veggies love the sun and will flourish in open areas that receive as much sunlight as possible with no big trees throwing shade on your new babies. Examine your space through eco-eyes: take note of the sun’s movement, surrounding foliage, and expansion space needed as your greens grow.

Top tip: Location is also important in terms of watering. Make sure your veggies are in reach of the hosepipe or irrigation system, and remain uncovered to receive as much rainfall as possible.

The new year is always a great time to start afresh and get back into the garden. Remove any tired or spent annuals and fill the gaps with new babies that will flower into autumn. Planting fresh herbs and veggies will also help you stick to those healthy New Year’s resolutions. Happy 2021, dear green fingers, and please do remember that your Life is A Garden!

What to do in the January garden

• There is still enough time to sow Eschsholzia, Lobelia, and Phlox for an abundance of summer and autumn colour.
• Water regularly during dry spells.
• Put out snail bait after rainfall or after watering in the evening.
• If yellow patches appear on the lawn, this is an almost sure sign of lawn caterpillar, also known as armyworm.

Tip: Use a thick, moist towel placed over a patch at night. If lawn caterpillars are the culprit, they will still be foraging on the lawn in the morning when you lift the towel. Consult your local GCA Garden Centre for a remedy.

• Colourful Begonias are available in trays to liven up semi-shade and shady areas.
• Deadhead hydrangeas and use the beautiful blooms in dry arrangements.
• A light summer pruning of your roses will help to extend quality flowering into late autumn.
• Gently prune lavender plants that have stopped flowering to encourage an autumn flush.
• Mulch, mulch, mulch to beat the heat and save water.

What to do in the January veggie garden

• Most veggies need 60 to 90 days to harvest so if we are sowing in January, we need to think about what we will eat fresh from the garden in March and April. Never sow the whole seed packet at once as it literally contains from around 50 to several hundred seeds, so rather sow in 14-day intervals to achieve a continuous harvest.

This Father’s Day, we’re taking dads back to their childhood with a superhero bat box, DIY style! Give dad a heartfelt, handmade gift with this fun activity for the whole family. It’s time to get out those tools, that leftover paint, a couple of nails, and a little bravery if needed.

The fact of the bat is

• Most bats spend the summers in trees, under bridges, or in old buildings.
• They are a protected species in South Africa and it is illegal to harm them.
• They are not vampires (thank goodness). There are 3 species of bats which feed on the blood of large mammals, but they do not bite into human necks and suck our blood.

Why should you build a bat box?

• One bat box can host up to 50 brown bats, who in turn will eat thousands of bugs each night, hooray!
• Bats love to eat mosquitos, yippee! One little brown bat could eat over 1000 mosquito-sized insects in one night. Amazing!
• Bats play a role in plant pollination too. Fruit trees, night flowering plants, and a variety of other flora can all benefit from having more of these friendly pollinators around.

Tools needed:

This project will require some basic carpentry skills. It’s a good idea to get dad involved in helping you build his gift.

• Table saw or handsaw
• Caulking gun
• Drill and drill bits
• Paintbrushes
• Tape measure
• Staple gun (optional)
• Two clamps for clamping wood while you saw or drill
• Safety glasses for when you use power tools

Materials needed:

• Piece of plywood: 60 cm x 120 cm x 1.5 cm
• Piece of cedar or pine board: 2.5 cm x 5 cm x 250 cm
• Piece of cedar or pine board: 2.5 cm x 10 cm x 60 cm
• Tube of paintable, nontoxic, latex caulk
• Exterior-grade, non-toxic, water-based paint or stain
• Wire or rubber mesh
• A super-cool Batman stencil
• Spray paint

Steps to building the bat house

1. Measure and cut the 60 cm x 120 cm x 1.5 cm piece of plywood into three pieces:
   1. 60 cm x 65 cm (for the backplate)
   2. 60 cm x 40 cm (for the top half of the front plate)
   3. The remaining 60 cm x 15 cm piece will be used as the bottom half of the front plate
2. Cut grooves into the entire backplate (for the bats to hold on to), or attach wire or rubber mesh using a staple gun.

Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than a hand-crafted, Mother's Day gift. Brush up on your knotting skills because the sassy 70's décor is back, baby! Try making this DIY macramé plant hanger for your mamma and gift her something genuine, from the heart.

You will need:

• Four pieces of 2-meter cotton cord (3.1mm thick)
• 1" brass ring
• Two pieces of 30 cm rope
• Scissors
• Plant of your choice - we have used a Sweatheart Creeper (Philodendron scandens oxycardi)
• Pot plant container

Getting to know the Sweatheart Creeper

Sweatheart Creepers (Philodendron scandens oxycardi) can be identified by their unique heart-shaped leaves. They are fast-growing climbers and one of the most popular foliage plants used as room or conservatory decor. This plant is adaptable, tolerates low levels of light for long periods, and thrives in summer or winter room temperatures. Click here to find your local GCA Garden Centre for more indoor plants suitable for this project.

Step by step to making your macramé masterpiece:

Step 1.
Begin your DIY macramé plant hanger by cutting the pieces of the cottob macramé cord. You will need four, 2-meter cords and two, 30 cm long cords.

Step 2.
Fold the  four, 2-meter cords in half and loop it through the bass ring.

Step 3.
Next, secure your cords in place by using the wrapped or ring knot. This is a simple knot that has a sophisticated, finished look. You will need your 30 cm piece of cord for this knot.

How to tie a wrapped, looped knot

1. Place the short cord over the looped cords with the short tail to the left, the loop pointing down, and the long tail to the right.
2. Wrap the long tail around the looped cords and around the loop of the short cord.
3. Continue wrapping the long tail, pulling it tight and leaving the bottom loop of the short cord uncovered.

With World Water Day just around the corner, on the 22^nd of March, Life is a Garden has put together an engaging water filtration experiment for the whole family. Get the kids involved and  teach them about water pollution and how to get clean water.

Living in a drought-stricken country, water is a very precious resource. Sadly, many South African’s do not have access to clean water. Teaching  kids about the importance of water in agriculture is an essential aspect of education and will help youngsters understand just how critical H2O is for  a healthy environment.

This fun science experiment teaches kids about the importance of clean drinking water. It also demonstrates the process of how to clean dirty or polluted water using a natural filtration system.

You can make a water filter using recycled materials found at home. This water experiment is appropriate for kids aged ten and up, and can be used during science class or as a hands-on, educational experiment at home.

You will need the following supplies:

• Two glass jars
• Fine, clean sand
• Gravel or small stones
• Rocks
• Coffee filters, cotton balls or a small cloth
• Activated charcoal
• Clear plastic bottle
• Dirty water
• Scissors or a knife

 Instructions

1. Cut an old plastic soda or juice bottle in half using scissors or a knife.

2. Place the bottle upside down into the glass jar..

3. Place cotton balls, cloth, or a coffee filter inside the bottle as the first layer. The first layer should be about two to three centimetres thick.

4. Add three to five centimetres of activated charcoal as the second layer, on top of the cotton layer.

5. Over the charcoal, add about three centimetres of fine sand as the third layer.

6. Add about three to four centimetres of gravel or small stones on top of the fine sand.

Water is a precious resource that is essential for all life form from plants and animals to humans. While we need to consume and use water to survive, there are ways to reuse and recycle our water to get double the benefit from it.

Did you know that in South Africa 27% of the total water used is used for domestic and gardening purposes? By recycling your water for irrigation and other non-drinking purposes our gardens and world would benefit significantly.

Recycled water, better known as greywater, is water that you have previously used and is sourced from basins, washing machines, baths and showers. Often this water will contain traces of soap residue along with other matter that is harmless when used for irrigation purposes or even cleaning paving or external areas around the house.

To get the maximum benefit from your greywater it is advisable to:

• Get the water directly from the outlet source to prevent contamination with black water. You can install a commercial greywater system if your sewerage pipes are visible outside of the house;
• Use environmentally friendly and biodegradable soaps, detergents and cleaning products to prevent damage to the environment;
• Spread the irrigation of greywater to different parts of the garden to spread the soap residue across a wider area.

Water is an essential commodity that we all need to work together to save. Visit your nearest GCA Garden Centre  to find out which products are available to help you do your bit to reuse your grey water and save water and our environment.