Lawns

Set your lawn mower blades high. The minimum height for grass is around 6.5 cm. anything shorter is hard to maintain, encourages weeds and disease and requires more intervention. Longer grass also protects the roots, offers more shade and prevents water evaporation.

Keep your lawn mower blades sharp. Dull blades will tear the grass, damaging the plant making it require more water than healthy plants.

Take the grass catcher off the mower. The sun and rain will break down the grass clippings and reward you with instant compost.

In a drought, don't waste water on a lawn beginning to turn brown, it will revive after normal rainfall resumes.

Quick tips

If you must water your lawn and garden, water in the morning or at night to prevent evaporation.

Plant native plants in your garden - they need much less water and maintenance than introduced species.

Grow ground cover or use mulch in your garden to cut down on water use. It also helps to control weeds.

Put a  container under your eaves trough downspout to catch water when it rains. You can use this water to water indoor plants, your garden and wash your car.

Buy a rain water tank.

Natural ways to get rid of pests

Companion planting is the practice of placing plants which pests dislike around those plants which pests relish. For instance, aphids hate chives, so chives are a  great companion plant  for roses.

Hand picking is time consuming but unbeatable. Use gloves and remove all visible offending pests.

Put  a cone of birdseed in your garden. Birds are much more efficient than people at killing bugs. Birds will eat thousands of insects a day. You can also plant flowers that attract birds, such as sunflowers and marigolds.

These gardening hints were kindly supplied by Greenpeace Australia. For more information on how you can care for your garden please go to the Greenpeace website.