Living in a country which has an historically low annual rainfall; living in large cities which have to "import" water for all its residents, making the cost of water an expensive commodity ; and knowing that we are experiencing hotter & drier summers, year after year, and drier & colder winters, we need to take a hard look at our gardening principles and practices. 

We must become water wise gardeners, using every means possible to assist our soils to hold on to water for the plants. This is achieved by MULCHING. This is, by the way, an essential practice of good organic cultivation.

• Stop the soil from drying out 
• Keep the soil soft and spongy 
• Sponginess absorbs and holds water more easily 
• Keep the temperature of the soil cool in summer and warm in winter 
• Break down to form compost
• Suppress weeds 
• Repel certain insects on top of the soil 
• Encourage beneficial insects and organisms in the soil

There are some plants that make better mulches than others - like HERBS. Herbs are multi-functional in the effect they have on the garden because of their various properties - they are healing, antiseptic, & insect repelling all at the same time. Herb mulches are used in both ornamental and vegetable gardens.

We can thus utilise herbal plants to make good mulches:

• Dry herb mulches: Collect all your herb prunings, leaves and discards and dry them in the sun. Mix them with the dried leaves of your other plants and store them under cover where they will not get wet and rot. When required, scatter a thick layer of these over all the bare patches of soil in your garden. The smell of the dried herbs, like lavender, rosemary, rue, thyme, sage, tansy, and mints deters predator insects from attacking your plants. The herbal properties of all herbal plants improve the health of the soil, more especially nasturtiums, lavender, rosemary, sage, yarrow These herb mulches encourage beneficial insects to live and work in the soil. Some herb mulches also provide superior food for the soil when they break down - like comfrey leaves, which are high in nitrogen and other minerals.
• Green herb mulches: or living ground covers. These are plants that grow close to, and cover the ground, thus protecting the soil and preventing it from the harsh sun and wind. There are many wonderful herbs that can be planted everywhere to grow and cover all the open patches in your garden. Catnip, creeping oreganum, creeping thyme, creeping rosemary, penny royal, lawn chamomile, chives, echinacea, lemon balm, marjoram, nasturtiums, gotu kola, salad burnet, yarrow, parsley and sorrel. They all make excellent mulches, are good companion plants, and their flowers and leaves are pretty & add variety to the area.

Dont allow your gardener to rake any dead plant material out of your garden.
Open soil is poor soil - one way or another, COVER the soil.

Text: Margie Frayne