Conserve Water and Create a Sustainable Garden Using Drought-Tolerant Plants and Rainwater Harvesting

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Other than soil health, access to water in your garden is a crucial ingredient in growing food successfully, and with changing weather patterns and increased frequency of droughts due to climate change posing significant challenges to water resources, water conservation becomes even more critical in regions prone to drought to ensure the availability of water during dry periods.

According to the United Nations, about 2.2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water, and around 4.2 billion people experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year, and agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater globally, accounting for around 70% of total water usage. Plus, energy is required to extract, treat, and distribute water, while water is necessary for energy production, such as cooling thermoelectric power plants. The water-energy nexus refers to this interdependence of water and energy resources. Conserving water can help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

What is water conservation in the garden?

There are many ways you can collect rainwater and conserve water in the garden. You can adopt water-wise landscaping techniques, such as sustainable landscape design, collecting and using rainwater for non-potable purposes, drip irrigation, ollas and xeriscaping - the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation by incorporating drought tolerant plants.

What are the benefits of including drought-tolerant plants and rainwater harvesting systems in your garden design?

By utilizing plants that don’t require heavy watering and can survive drying out a bit, you can reduce runoff (precipitation that does not soak into the soil but instead moves on the surface and is lost to evaporation), conserve water, save money on water bills, reduce maintenance, and support a healthy ecosystem. This is a great passive way to increase the sustainability of your garden with little effort - all it takes is a bit of planning. Use the list of drought tolerant plants below to start planning.

How do rainwater barrels work?

A rainwater harvesting system utilizing barrels most commonly works by capturing rain coming down your gutters off of your roof. The water can then be accessed through a spigot or hose connected directly to the barrel. You can scale this concept up with an actual collection tank, and even hook it into your home’s greywater system.

What is the best rainwater harvesting barrel?

We have this 50 Gallon Capacity Flat Back Rain Barrel. It allows us to utilize natural resources and is linkable to other barrels for increased capacity using separately sold linking kit. This rain barrel collection system is resistant to rust, mold, mildew, and rotting and has a high quality brass spigot for hose hook-up, plus an included overflow spout helps drain excess water away. There is a screen to keep out debris, insects, animals, and children. It is made off BPA-free, FDA approved resin in the USA and it is 22" L x 23" W x 30" H. It is sturdy and built to last.

What are some other ways to conserve water in the garden?

The concept of using ollas as an irrigation system goes back thousands of years and has been used in countless cultures around the world. An olla watering system is basically any type of unglazed clay pot that is buried beneath the soil with only a small amount sticking up above the surface and filled with water. You can tell that a pot is unglazed because it will be that classic terracotta red color with no shiny finish, glaze or paint. The water then leeches out of tiny holes or “pores” in the unglazed clay and is pulled through the soil to the roots of your thirsty plants using a process called soil moisture tension. This functions much the same way as osmosis, in that the water is trying to equalize to a certain level of moisture within the soil. This means your soil will never become overwatered either - if the soil is moist, the water stays in the pot until it is needed. Click here for full instructions on how to make your own.

DROUGHT TOLERANT PLANTS

Thyme

Appearance: Small, fragrant leaves on low-growing, spreading stems.

Size: Typically 4 to 8 inches tall and spreading up to 12 inches.

Uses: Culinary herb, medicinal properties, ground cover.

Olive Tree

Appearance: Evergreen tree with gray-green foliage and small, white flowers.

Size: Can reach up to 30 feet tall, but some cultivars are smaller.

Uses: Edible olives and oil, ornamental tree.

Fern-leaf Yarrow

Appearance: Feathery, fern-like leaves and clusters of yellow flowers.

Size: Typically 2 to 4 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Ornamental plant, cut flowers, attracts beneficial insects.

Hummingbird Mint

Appearance: Aromatic foliage with spikes of tubular flowers in various colors.

Size: Varies by species, typically 2 to 4 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide.

Uses: Ornamental plant, attracts pollinators, herbal tea.

Zinnia

Appearance: Showy, daisy-like flowers in a wide range of colors and sizes.

Size: Varies by cultivar, but generally 1 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Ornamental plant, cut flowers, attracts butterflies.

Aloe vera

Appearance: Rosettes of fleshy, spiky leaves with tall flower stalks.

Size: Typically 1 to 2 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Medicinal gel from the leaves, ornamental plant.

Purple Coneflower

Appearance: Large, showy flowers with cone-shaped centers and drooping petals.

Size: Usually 2 to 4 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide.

Uses: Medicinal herb, ornamental plant, attracts pollinators.

Beardtongue

Appearance: Tubular flowers in various colors, on tall stems with narrow leaves.

Size: Ranges from 1 to 4 feet tall, depending on the species.

Uses: Ornamental plant, some species used in traditional medicine.

Blanket Flower

Appearance: Brightly colored daisy-like flowers on long stems.

Size: Varies by species, typically 1 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Ornamental plant, attracts pollinators.

Yarrow

Appearance: Feathery foliage with flat-topped clusters of flowers in various colors.

Size: Generally 1 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Medicinal herb, ornamental plant, attracts beneficial insects.

Stonecrop

Appearance: Succulent leaves and clusters of star-shaped flowers.

Size: Varies by species, but generally low-growing and spreading, ranging from a few inches to 2 feet in height.

Uses: Ornamental plant, ground cover, some species have medicinal properties.

Rosemary

Appearance: Aromatic, needle-like leaves on woody stems with small blue flowers.

Size: Can grow 2 to 4 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Culinary herb, aromatic properties, traditional medicinal uses.

Agave

Appearance: Large succulent with sharp, spiky leaves arranged in a rosette shape.

Size: Can grow up to 6 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Edible flower stalks, medicinal properties in traditional herbal remedies.

Yucca

Appearance: Sword-like leaves forming a clump with tall flower spikes.

Size: Typically 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Edible flowers and fruit, soap-making from root fibers.

Prickly Pear Cactus

Appearance: Thick, succulent pads with spines and showy flowers.

Size: Various species, but commonly 3 to 6 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Edible fruit (prickly pear), medicinal properties in traditional medicine.

Lavender

Appearance: Fragrant, grayish-green foliage with spikes of purple flowers.

Size: Typically 1 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Culinary herb, essential oil production, herbal medicine.

Sage

Appearance: Gray-green leaves with purple-blue flowers on upright stems.

Size: Typically 1 to 2 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Culinary herb, medicinal properties in traditional medicine.

Rockrose

Appearance: Evergreen shrub with showy, papery flowers in various colors.

Size: Varies by species, generally 2 to 5 feet tall and wide.

Uses: Ornamental plant, aromatic properties in potpourri.

Maximizing Water Conservation in the Garden

If you’ve already implemented drought tolerant plants into your sustainable garden design and set up a rainwater harvesting system, the next thing you should consider is if there is anywhere that you can add mulch to your garden.

Mulch acts as a protective layer over the soil, reducing evaporation and slowing down water loss. It helps to keep the soil consistently moist by preventing water from quickly evaporating under the sun and wind. Mulch creates a barrier that inhibits weed growth. Weeds compete with garden plants for water, so by suppressing their growth, mulch helps reduce water loss by minimizing competition for moisture. It acts as an insulating layer, moderating soil temperature fluctuations. It keeps the soil cooler during hot weather, reducing water evaporation, and warmer during colder periods, promoting root health and water absorption, and helps to prevent soil erosion by reducing the impact of heavy rainfall on the soil surface. It absorbs and disperses the force of falling water, preventing runoff and allowing water to infiltrate the soil more effectively.

Organic mulches, such as compost, break down over time and improve the soil structure. This enhances the soil's water-holding capacity, allowing it to retain moisture for longer periods and reducing the need for frequent watering, and when water is applied to the garden, mulch helps to slow down the flow and absorption of water, preventing runoff. This allows the plants to utilize more of the water provided, reducing water waste.

To maximize the water-saving benefits of mulch, it is essential to apply an adequate layer (2 to 4 inches) around plants, leaving space around the stem to prevent moisture-related issues. Additionally, selecting organic mulch materials, such as wood chips, straw, or compost, provides the added advantage of improving soil health over time.

I encourage you to take action in the fight against climate change by incorporating these elements into your landscape design to save water, reduce your environmental impact, and create a healthier ecosystem!

Sustainable Swaps For Your Home

The Cottage Peach is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are our own.

Sustainable swaps can be a fun way to incorporate more eco-friendly practices into your slow living journey. Just a couple of important notes:

First of all, it is better to use up what you already have even if it is a disposable product before making your swap.

And second, many  ‘effortless’ swaps are not effortless unless you come from a place of privilege. There are many who cannot make these swaps due to lack of resources or varying health conditions. So, while these changes can be a fun way to feel more connected to the earth and our environment, real change happens on a global and national level with our leadership. We must enact policies that protect our planet and regulate the huge corporations that are currently leaving us, the consumers, to clean up the pieces of their dirty work.

That said, here are some ideas for what you can swap out to save money and, at least slightly, limit your personal impact on the planet.

Windex 🡪 Vinegar

The benefit to opting out of chemical cleaners is two-fold: less plastic AND fewer toxic chemicals. The truth is there’s no one really policing the labeling of ‘toxic-free’ cleaners, so these labels can’t be trusted.

Vinegar works as a disinfectant to some degree; it will kill E-coli and Salmonella. It is not as powerful as bleach, but is very effective as a general household cleaner. 

We use it on mirrors, windows, sinks, shower walls…the list goes on and on!

Because of its acidic nature, vinegar should not be used to clean stone (including granite, marble, and quartz) or hardwood flooring.

How to Make Vinegar House Cleaner

This cleaner requires only two ingredients: vinegar and water.

We generally eyeball the ratio of vinegar to water, but a good general rule is 3 Tablespoons of vinegar to 1 cup of water.

Fast Fashion 🡪 Secondhand Clothes

Did you know the production of cotton for fast fashion is second only to oil mining as the worst industry in the world for harming the planet? The impact of the growth of genetically-modified cotton seeds and the use of toxic pesticides has resulted in entire villages being poisoned by their water supply. Buying secondhand eliminates this aspect from the supply chain, and it’s fun!

Tips For Shopping Secondhand:

• Make a list of items you are looking for, so if you run across something you want you can double check whether it’s something you need.

• Look often and be patient! The stock of secondhand stores, online and in person, changes daily.

• Know your measurements. Buy a flexible tape measure and write down your chest, waist, hip, and inseam so you can quickly reference it while shopping.

My Favorite Places to Shop Secondhand: 

• Poshmark has a huge variety. One feature I particularly like is that your payment isn’t released to the seller until your item has arrived and you’ve approved it.

• Etsy sellers list thousands and thousands of vintage clothing items.

• Local thrift stores are the most fun in terms of feeling as though you’re on a treasure hunt. Skip the chains if you can in favor of smaller stores.

Disposable Plastic Water Bottle 🡪 Glass or Metal Water Bottle

Did you know roughly 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and other containers are tossed out (not recycled) every year. Plastic bottles make up a significant portion of this waste. They are also one of the main sources of pollution and pose a serious threat to our environment and the animals we share it with. There are so many reusable water bottles available. In a pinch, a mason jar or old sauce jar will do just fine. 

I love these metal water bottles from Package Free Shop

Disposable Plastic Containers 🡪 Glass Storage

Mason jars can hold anything a plastic baggie can, and are also useful pantry containers. We use them all over our home to hold leftovers, beans, soups, flowers, overnight oats, and even as soap dispensers.

A variety of tops are available for storage, smoothies, oil dispensing, and sipping, and cozies available to keep your coffee or tea warm.

If fitting mason jars in your fridge is not the best option for you, Package Free Shop has these great glass food storage containers with bamboo lids which stack and allow for an organized refrigerator. 

Here’s my top choices for mason jar accessories:

Plastic Straws 🡪 Glass, Metal, or Bamboo Straws*

*Note that doing away with plastic straws altogether is not an option, as many people need access to bendable straws to eat or drink.

In the US alone, people discard 500 million straws every day, or more than 180 billion a year. That’s about 1.4 million kilograms of plastic sent to landfills (and the ocean) every day!

Here’s my top choices for reusable straws:

Plastic Shopping Bags 🡪 Reusable Bags

Hopefully you’ve already jumped on this bandwagon, but if not, here’s a reason you should: Plastic bags are used for only 20 minutes on average, but take hundreds of year to decompose, and in that time can poison or kill countless wildlife. 

Any tote bag will do, and they can often be found cheap or free. Or you can grab these reusable string netted market bags from Package Free Shop by clicking here.

Prepackaged Tea Bags 🡪 Loose Leaf Tea and Strainer

‘Paper’ tea bags almost always contain some plastic, and can be full of pesticides, toxins, and dioxins. Epichlorhydrine is the pesticide most often found in tea bags. It’s known to cause cancer in animals exposed to it.

As a bonus, using leaf tea means a wider choice of options and the possibility to mix your own varieties.

Tea strainers are available in practical, pretty, and humorous options. Some are more durable than others, so take a look at the construction before purchasing.

Here’s a few of my top choices for reusable loose leaf tea strainers:

Dryer Sheets 🡪 Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls are a better option all around than toxin laden fabric softener and wasteful, one-time-use dryer sheets. Not only are these products bad for the environment, their contents are also absorbed by your clothing, towels, and bedding, and then transferred to your skin.

Wool dryer balls are fun to make, or you can grab this set of three from Package Free Shop by clicking here.

Paper Towels 🡪 Rags

Although convenient and sometimes necessary for really gross messes, single use paper towels are not the best option because they create a significant waste problem. 254 tons a year in the US, to be specific!

Rags are an easy substitute. Most everyone has clothes or towels or sheets they’ve worn out, or relatives who do. Cut to shape with pinking shears, those items make very effective cleaning towels.

We like to cut our rags into a few standard sizes for use in different situations, but the truth is you could simply rip a cotton sheet up with your hands and be good to go.

If rags are not your style, Swedish dishcloths are a great option. One Swedish dish cloth can replace 17 rolls of paper towels. 

I use Package Free Shop Swedish dishcloths, which are made of 70% cellulose and 30% organic cotton. They are 100% natural, biodegradable, and they’re much cheaper than paper towels! Click here to shop at Package Free.

Paper Napkins 🡪 Cloth Napkins

Cloth napkins make even a pb&j feel a bit fancy. I like to look for vintage ones whenever I go thrifting or antiquing. I’ve also been given some by older relatives who were delighted I was being old-fashioned.

People worry that using rags or cloth napkins will hugely increase their laundry loads, but we have not found that to be true. Only the dirtiest of rags need to be washed separately, and the great majority of the time the rags we use can go straight in with our towels.

Paper Tissues 🡪 Cloth Hankies

Stay with me here – I know this is a polarizing idea! Plenty of people will say it’s just gross, and fair enough, but for me the thought of blowing my nose with a bit of fabric and then putting the fabric in the laundry is not an issue. Package Free Shop has the last tissue box you’ll ever need - click here to grab it.

Washing Your Hair Every Day 🡪 Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo allows you to wash your hair less frequently, lowering water consumption in the shower and allowing you to use less shampoo overall. Spending just 3 minutes less in the shower can help save over 6 gallons of water.

If you buy a dry shampoo, look for one that does not come as an aerosol spray, like this one. Better yet, you can make your own. Arrowroot or cornstarch make effective dry shampoos and are perfect for light blonde hair, but you can also add various ingredients depending on your hair color.

How to Make Dry Shampoo

• Mix 2 Tablespoons of arrowroot or cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of coloring powder:  

• For darker blonde or medium-brown hair, add cocoa powder.

• For black hair, add cocoa powder and activated charcoal.

• For red hair, add cinnamon.

Disposable Wipes 🡪 Washable Cotton Facecloths

Somewhere around 20 million pounds of disposable wipes are thrown away every DAY in the US. Most end up in landfills, and despite claims to the contrary, most are not biodegradable and do not rapidly break down. Any cotton facecloth will do. I love to use old flannel PJs for this. Or you can buy these wipes from Marley’s Monsters.

Swiffer Mops 🡪 Reusable Mops and Cleaning Pads

Swiffer mops are convenient and user-friendly, but have you ever thought about how much trash those single use pads generate? Not to mention the chemicals in the cleaning solutions or the plastic bottles that contain those solutions.

Disposable Swiffer pads are made from polyester, which is derived from fossil fuels, which are, of course, contributing to the degradation of our ecosystems and wildlife. 

A simple solution is to hang on to your dry Swiffer stick if you already have one, but replace those disposable pads with terry cloth. You can often find terry cloth in the scrap bin at your local fabric store. Or, cut up an old towel instead.

Cut the terrycloth a little bigger than the disposable Swiffer pads to allow for any shrinkage.

For the Wet-Jet mops, a great replacement is a steam mop - click here for the one we use. I find them so much easier to use: just add water and you’re good to go. Steam removes dirt and bacteria, and leaves my floors looking and feeling much cleaner.

Wrapping Paper 🡪 Reusable Bags or Alternative Wrapping

Every year Americans use 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper. A good bit of that ends up in a landfill. Wrapping paper with glitter, foil, plastic, texture, bows, tape, or sticky tags on it cannot be recycled.

What To Use Instead of Wrapping Paper

• It used to be common to use the comics from newspapers, and that’s still a fun option. Any part of the newspaper will do, really. 

• Save the brown paper that comes in the cardboard boxes shipped to your house. Everyone loves a brown paper package tied up with string! Brown shopping bags are also perfect for this look.

• Sheet music, book pages, posters, and magazines can all make pretty wrapping.

• Using fabric as wrapping is a fun option.

• A pretty tin is a great way to package a present. You can often find them at thrift stores.

• If you do use disposable wrapping paper, be sure it’s paper only. Use paper bows and tape and don’t forget to recycle!

Plastic Wrap 🡪 Beeswax Wraps

You can make beeswax wraps at home using fabric, beeswax, resin, and jojoba oil, but in my experience it’s a bit of a messy and time consuming project. Regardless of whether you shop or make, they are great for wrapping sandwiches or snacks and cover bowls.  They should last for about a year, and most are compostable. Here’s some you can buy from Package Free Shop.

What is your favorite sustainable swap? Let me know in the comments!