Well, it’s October 2007, and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve mowed my lawn since April. Since June, my community in North Carolina’s Piedmont area has seen a grand total of 1 inch of rain, and the heat’s been searing – well-above average for being this deep into fall. We’ve seen droughts before, but our seniors who’ve been around awhile say this is the worst drought they’ve experienced. The National Weather Service has labeled the drought in nearly 26 percent of the Southeast as being “exceptional” – the worst drought category there is. Yes, it’s bad, but what does it mean to the gardens and usually lush landscapes of the Southeast?

Southeastern homeowners with brown lawns are to be commended for following current watering restrictions.

Photo Credit: Megan Bame

Save your wasted water by keeping a catch bucket in the sink or shower – then let your plants drink up!

Photo Credit: Megan Bame

Despite the drought, our loofah plant gives us a daily blanket of yellow blooms – and plenty of neat fruit.

Photo Credit: Megan Bame

First off, it means your lawns have likely bit the dust…literally. Strict water restrictions will do that to a yard. But there’s no need to panic. You’re not alone, and you can reseed. There’s no hurry, though. Frankly, it’s too late to establish a lawn now, and there really wasn’t a chance to do it this fall anyway. The ground was too hard to core-aerate, and there’s been no rain to supplement the irrigation requirements for new grass.

The best thing you can do for your lawn now is to just sit back and see what Mother Nature has in store. Maybe more of your lawn than you expect will have miraculously survived come spring. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley may have summed it up best when he said, “A bit of mud on the car or patches of brown on the lawn must be a badge of honor. It means you are doing the right thing for your community and our state.”

One thing not to do is try to circumvent water restrictions. I was terribly disheartened by the report that some wealthy new homeowners had found their own solution to the water restrictions. Since only municipal water use can be patrolled, these homeowners dug an “irrigation well” to get around the water restrictions, which carry a pretty stiff fine. That sort of stance is simply unacceptable, in my opinion.

The Southeast’s lack of rain means that not only do our lakes and streams go unreplenished, our underground aquifers are hurt, too. Contrary to some people’s belief, there is a limited supply of fresh water. Just because the water you’re using doesn’t run through a meter, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t come at a cost.

After hearing how severe our region’s drought is, you might be tempted to throw your hands in the air and give up on gardening. But the good news is that you don’t have to do that. You can still work outside and enjoy your yard – you just need to temporarily scale back. I would normally have at least two other flower beds planted for fall, but I just couldn’t justify watering them, so for now I’ll be content with a few colorful containers this season.

Another key in getting through this drought is reusing your water. For instance, I keep a bucket in the kitchen sink to catch the water we use as we wash our hands, rinse out recyclable cans, wash our daily collection of chicken eggs and so forth. When the bucket’s full, I use that water to irrigate the two plantings by our back door. (If my shower were bigger, I’d put a bucket in there, too.) Obviously this “gray water” isn’t fit to drink, but it’s just fine for our plants – dirt and soap aren’t a problem for them.

Some people come up with all kinds of ways to reuse water. I recently read about a mom who noticed condensation dripping from the air-conditioning units at her child’s school. The children set buckets under the units and collected 70 gallons of water a day! The water was used to irrigate potted plants and a few shrubs around the school. Your at-home drips may not amount to quite as much as that, but you would be amazed at how much water is simply wasted around the house on a regular basis. That said, don’t forget to stop leaks where they start by checking for drips on all your faucets and spigots!

Now’s also the perfect time to look around your neighborhood and take note of the plants that seem to be thriving under our current drought conditions. I’ve noticed some gorgeous wax begonias, ‘Homestead Purple’ verbena, lantana and scarlet sage that love this weather. My mandevillas have grown and flowered far beyond usual expectations, and my roses – the miniatures in particular – haven’t had the first drop of water this season and are still going strong!

And I have to mention my loofah plant. It’s in a bed that we stopped irrigating early on in this drought, but despite the lack of water, it’s vined into the yard and bloomed large yellow flowers every day! This tough plant adds color to an otherwise dull bed, given that many of its neighboring plants long ago surpassed the permanent wilting point. It produced fruit, to boot, so we’ll have loofahs to harvest and clean for gift-giving (or pot-scrubbing).

Despite this drought of ours, I certainly hope your gardens are fairing well and that you’re finding creative ways to conserve your water. In most cases, water conservation practices are worthy of becoming habits to continue even after the rains return. I do have faith that there will be rain again, but it’ll take many, many rains to restore our water supply. Until then, do wear a badge of honor as your lawns remain brown. But remember, with a little forethought, you can still nurture your spots of color in the garden – just as long as it doesn’t require a hose.