For one reason or another, we often want to add new plants to our gardens. During the drought however, many of us are reluctant to put in plants that will die for lack of water.

Obviously, your choice of plants is different if you expect little rain and water compared to someone living in a wet area, so choose plants that are likely to survive dry climates. That doesn’t mean you can’t grow vegetables, fruits or flowers, however, not does everything have to be native to Australia.

So here are some quick tips for helping your new plants survive and thrive…

• prepare the soil beforehand - mix in compost, aerate the soil and add some water absorbing crystals 
• only plant when it is likely to rain, and you can expect a reasonable amount of rain for the next few months (so now may not be a good time unless you have a huge water storage available)
• group plants together so they can hep protect each other from water loss - this includes avoiding straight lines with rows of soil in between
• plan your garden so that plants needing more water (such as vegetables) are together and closest to the house so if you need to carry out cooking or drinking water, you won’t have as far to carry it
• water deeply after planting (and for the following waters) to encourage the plants to grow and establish good roots
• feed them well for the first few months, too, to encourage growth
• mulch them well as soon as they are planted, and maintain the mulch over the months

Encouraging good growth straight away will develop a strong and healthy plant, a plant better able to withstand tough conditions later on.