Plant lists have been developed for five styles of garden: Cottage, Formal, Mediterranean, Subtropical and Backyard. The gardens make it easier to select drought tolerant plants without changing your preferred style of garden.

Creating a new garden or renovating an old garden should only be attempted after very dry conditions and high level water restrictions have ceased. Once established these plants are drought tolerant. By selecting plants from the savewater gardens you are choosing plants with lower water needs than many of the ‘traditional’ plants used in these garden styles. Generally speaking these plants will not need to be watered once they are established, but like all garden plants they need maintenance to keep them looking good. You can use the gardens to start a new garden or to revamp an existing one and you don’t have to use all the plants listed. A range of plants has been provided that will suit different local conditions. We recommend that you take the garden plant list to your local nursery. Look for Water Saver Garden Centres and Sustainable Gardening Australia certified nurseries in your local area. The important information you need from the nursery is what plants on the list are more suited to your local conditions, particularly soil types and climatic tolerances. Other good sources of information on suitable low water use plants for your local area are sometimes available from your water authority and/or local Council.