Some simple pointers for earth-wise gardening

If you're planning on starting or improving a garden, consider an earth-wise garden. An earth-wise garden makes the most of an existing site and is easier and cheaper to maintain.

As with any garden, if you choose an earth-wise garden you'll need to look after your soil and choose plants that suit your climate and situation. You'll also need to use water wisely and try organic methods before resorting to chemicals. But doing all of that will make it more likely that your earth-wise garden will reward you with healthy plants and produce all year round.

Here are a few simple pointers to help make just about any garden more earth-wise.

No matter what type of garden you have or choose – be it cottage or native or balcony – there are three basic requirements you should keep in mind.

1. Sun and shade: North-facing means sunny and south-facing means shady. Choose the best place for your garden beds, lawns and outdoor living areas according to their aspect.
2. Shelter: Shelter from harsh winds is essential for plant growth and for your own comfort when working in your garden. Create a multi-layered windbreak with tall plants facing the prevailing winds and layers of lower plants facing the area you wish to shelter. Solid windbreaks create turbulence so use hedging plants such as bottlebrushes, conifers, grevilleas, photinia and viburnum.
3. Healthy soil: The composition of the earth in your garden – whether it is sand, clay or loam – and its depth, drainage patterns, pH and nutrient levels will determine what you can grow. However, applying nutrient-rich mulches and organic matter can improve many unpromising sites.

• Work with the soil you have rather than replacing it with new material. Not only is new earth expensive and hard work to import, it may also contain weed seeds.
• Grow plants that are native to your area. They will be perfectly suited to the chemical composition of the soil, so you won't have to worry about changing it.
• The easiest way to improve just about any soil is to add compost and organic matter, but there are also lots of other products that will benefit your soil, including gypsum and humic acids (that is, acids that are derived from humus). These are naturally occurring materials that improve soil structure and the way the soil absorbs water. You can purchase these products from your local garden centre.
• Avoid adding lots of fertilizers to soils that are poorly drained or too dry. Work on the drainage and soil structure first.

To check how well your soil drains, dig a 30 centimetre (12 inch) hole, then fill it with water. If the water drains away in minutes, the soil is water-repellent. If it takes more than eight hours, it is waterlogged.

• To fix water-repellent soil, dig in plenty of well-rotted animal manure or compost. Mulch the garden beds to help preserve soil moisture.
• To fix waterlogged soil, add sub-surface drainage to remove excess water. Or, build raised garden beds so that plants are not growing in wet conditions. If neither works, create a bog or water garden and grow water-loving plants.

• Choose shade-tolerant plants if your balcony has an overhang. Go for varieties normally sold as indoor plants, such as peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) or potted Ficus. For a sun-drenched balcony, choose tough but not prickly succulents, such as Kalanchoe, or a potted citrus, such as a kumquat.
• Protect yourself from prevailing winds with a screen of plants in heavy pots or troughs. Hardy varieties include bamboo and coprosma.
• Buy a good potting mix to suit the types of plants you're growing.

Whether you're planning out a new garden, or just looking to improve one that you already have, put these simple pointers into practice to help make it more earth-wise.