Planning a garden? Group plants with like needs into water “zones” to conserve water. Those zones create a hydrozone.

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Designing a new landscape can be exciting – and with a bit of planning, it can yield a water-efficient garden of your dreams.  Spring is a great time to design and plant a new landscape and it is important to know the water needs of the types of plants you intend to grow to maximize water conservation while ensuring that each type of plant receives an adequate amount of moisture to thrive.

Hydrozones drawn on this plan include turf (zones 1 and 4), landscape beds (zones 2 and 3), and an unirrigated buffer zone next to the water body (zone 5) Image source: St. John's River Irrigation System Criteria

During the initial planning phase of a landscape, it is important to consider the water needs of the various plants you will install and to group plants with like needs into water “zones”— this is called hydrozoning. Hydrozoning helps minimize water waste by separating thirsty plants from those that thrive on moderate or little water.