Australia is in the grip of a water crisis, so is India, and so are many other countries around the globe. Australian landscape garden designer Jim Fogarty, in Singapore these days to participate in the upcoming Singapore Garden Festival, spoke to Divya A about how green gardens and dishwashers could become luxuries if we don’t take steps to check water wastage:

Your country has been in the grip of a water crisis. Has the problem now moved to the suburbs and towns?
The last few summers have been really tough in terms of water. There is a warning that major cities could run out of drinking water. In the summer of 2009, we had severe bushfires in Melbourne on a day when the temperature touched 46.4 degrees!

Is it illegal to water lawns in Australia? In that case, how do you maintain your gardens?
That’s right. In fact, water restrictions have made gardening difficult in our country. We can only water our lawns twice a week, that too, during a given two-hour window. Consequently, people have learnt to adjust their approach to a garden.
Now, in the design phase, we plan on locating underground water tanks so that all the rainwater harvested from house roofs can be stored for lawn irrigation. Selecting suitable turf types and plants is also critical in ensuring that a garden survives in a drought.

Do you think people sometimes overwater plants?
One thing we have realised in Australia is that plants are tougher than people think. In many ways, we do water them too much. By reducing the amount of water for plants, we realised that most plants could survive on less water.
Is there any sort of water problem in other countries as well, where you have travelled for garden shows?
My travel has included the Chelsea Flower Show in London, Sydney in Bloom, Singapore Garden Festival, Ellerslie Flower Show in New Zealand, the World Garden Competition in Japan, and this July the Putrajaya Floria in Malaysia.
Most countries today are facing a water crisis, especially clean drinking water. But i think people in the Middle East certainly have learnt to manage on limited water supply. Desalination has been successful in those parts.

How can governments help in conserving water?
By allowing for better water storage and managing water storage with population growth. The other key is to manage forests adjacent to water storage areas to reduce run-off. Forests play a vital role in water catchment.
How can trees and plants actually help in controlling temperatures?
Trees are critical in reducing summer temperatures by providing shade. They are natural air-conditioners. A well-shaded garden can reduce cooling costs significantly.
Is it better and more ecologicallysensitivetogrow local plants than exotic, imported ones?
I think local plants are good but keeping biodiversity in mind, we should not be afraid to use exotic species. In Australia, many exotic trees will provide a better shade canopy to reduce summer temperatures. There is much debate about the role that native tree species play in bushfires.

Source : TOI
7 July 2010

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