Our poor little container garden is getting fried by the Texas heat, which hit triple digits last week. It seems that they wilt every day without a splash of water. But one day, someone else took the reigns: the BF went to get the hose from the side of the apartment building, and soaked each and every one of those plants. They were green and perked up for days! Why?

Turns out, drenching plants once a week (or every three days, in hot-hot-hot weather like ours), can actually be better for the plants because it mimics a heavy rainfall. Hose incident aside, we've started collecting our kitchen and bath water, then drenching one or two plants with it at a time. This helps to save water, and also gives the plants a healthy soaking.

If you have access to your own garden hose, though, consider the slow-soak method for watering. You can either purchase a soaker hose, or repurpose the one you've got by poking holes in it. Snake it around the garden, and set the faucet to low, slowly irrigating your beds.

Either way, we think you may save some water in the meantime — and if anything, you'll save your plants!

(Image: Amber Byfield for Re-Nest.com.)