Gardening and watering go together in Central Otago but that could be about to change.
Central Otago Water Services support officer Julie Clarke organised a dry garden competition to raise awareness about water conservation.
"Showcasing beautiful dry gardens demonstrates we can have our cake and eat it too — save water and enjoy a beautiful garden."
There were 13 entries in a variety of catagories, including tiny and specialty gardens, as well as new and established urban and rural gardens.
Winner of the tiny design garden Tracey Grose said she moved from a 2500sqm property in Nelson to 328sqm in a new subdivision in Cromwell.
Judge Sue Mort said Mrs Grose had a wonderful husband "I wouldn’t mind borrowing sometime".
Mrs Grose watered only when necessary, with a watering can, rather than using a hose.
Dry-loving plants, rocks and wall-mounted planter boxes all featured in the tiny garden.
Established urban garden winners Gavin and Cathy Dunn were inspiring with their water gathering techniques, Mrs Mort said.
She now kept a milk bottle by the sink and collected the cold water while waiting for hot to arrive.
However, she had not yet put a bucket in the shower to do the same thing as the Dunns had.
The Dunns’ garden had neither lawn nor irrigation.
They had a worm farm and propagated native plants.
They also collected water from every building on their town section including the garden shed and glasshouse, Mrs Mort said.
