Drought Gardening: Going Into Emergency Mode

a good two inches deep with whatever material you can find. If your yard is like ours there are probably a multitude of fallen leaves leftover from fall, trapped in the beds waiting to be raked out. Don't leave them there whole. Mow them or shred them - but use them. Buy bagged mulch if you must - but mulch! It will be easier once things have begun to sprout and you have eliminated the non-essentials. There will be clear spaces between the plants chosen for survival.

Water responsibly.
My own gardens are so large that I don't even think about using the hose now. This is ironic since hauling water requires so much human energy when there are a lot of plants to tend to. But the hose is also wasteful when there is a dire shortage of water. Haul it around and you'll be inadvertently watering paving, or grass, and plants that seem to be surviving well enough without it. We can't afford that now. (And I know your grass may not appear to be surviving - just be grateful that you don't need to mow it and assume that it will come back after some good rains - as are promised later this summer. It usually does.)

Instead fill that watering can and tote it to those spots where plants look desperate. It may be painful - but don't water any plant until it wilts. Trying to be generous only hurts in the long run. For plants you love that seem to demand extra pampering poke holes in the bottom of plastic gallon milk jugs, fill with water and set them around the plant to release the water slowly into the soil. When soil is dry, slow is best.

If the drought keeps up, and wells and water supplies run dry (as many already have) because we are cheating to save our precious plants - we will have done worse by them in the long run. Not to mention the impact that lack of water will have on those other creatures that make such a joy of our gardens - the birds and butterflies. Have you noticed an excess of bird feathers decorating the lawn? That, too, is an effect of drought.

I am apologizing to my plants a lot these days, assuring them that this hurts me as much as it is hurting them. But the only major guilt

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