Many regions of the world are experiencing water shortages and drought conditions and growers, landscapers and home gardeners need to consider how best to address the problem. It is also a problem for politicians and local authorities in rationing water supplies, shutting off fountains and banning the refilling of ponds. The grower and landscape industries need to loby politicians and local authorities to ensure that their water requirements are not the first to be compromised. Gardeners, landscapers and the consumer can consider the following advice: improve the capacity of the soil to absorb and hold water and allow plant roots to grow deep; install efficient irrigation systems based on the types of plants and grass in the garden; group plants together based on their water and light requirements and try to avoid windy locations; mulch the plants to keep the plant roots cool, to reduce the growth of weeds and the evaporation of moisture from the soil surface; choose plants (annuals and perennial, grasses, ornamental trees and shrubs) that are more drought tolerant and look at alternatives to to planting lawns. For further advice: www.anla.org and other web sites of some States in the USA, for example: www.gardenwise.bc.ca www.dwr.water.ca.gov www.pnla.com http://drought.unl.edu www.watersaver.org "GrowerTalks" www.growertalks.com