A popular guide to planting and maintaining a water-efficient and drought-tolerant garden has been launched again.
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Coliban Water's Lauren McLean said the new Smart Gardens for a Dry Climate booklet was bigger than before and full of ideas.
"A region focus section looks at soil types and climate from the nine local council areas across the Coliban Water region, and includes information on councils' green waste and gardening initiatives," Ms McLean said.
In this latest edition, she said, Coliban Water had worked with Dja Dja Wurrung people.
"Harley Douglas, a Djaara man and project officer at Dja Dja Wurrung Enterprises, writes on the local plants used or food, medicine and fibre, and shares the Djaara language names for plants," Ms McLean said.
She said the booklet featured ideas for different types of gardens, as well as information on healthy soils, plant selection, and water conservation.
The booklet was first produced in partnership with the City of Greater Bendigo in 2003, to help residents who were dealing with the impact of water restrictions forced by the Millenium drought.
"Our gardens have changed a lot since the drought and so have our gardening practices," Ms McLean said.
"Whilst we have permanent water saving rules in place now, our outdoor water use still accounts for the majority of our water consumption and there is more we can do to be waterwise.
Climate change and a growing population mean we need to plan for a future with less water for more people. We need to be smart about how we plan and maintain our gardens to cope in dry periods and extreme heat, whilst still being able to enjoy them as they are so important for our health and wellbeing."
The free booklet is available in libraries across the Coliban Water area. It can also be downloaded online, or residents can apply to have a hard copy mailed to them.
For more information, visit the Coliban Water website.
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