My life as a gardener comes down to this: before 2011 and after. The drought gets full credit for the chasm.

Experts say dry conditions and water restrictions will continue in Texas. But rather than toss in our trowels, we can resolve to conserve water and garden smarter this year.

Draw up a game plan

Horticulturist David Rodriguez’s first step to a successful garden is to plan. What do you want to plant and why? Do you know the sun requirements, water needs and understand the eventual sizes of the plants? Once you have the answers, sketch your plan and adjust as needed.

Build an organically enriched soil

Rodriguez and other experts emphasize organics as drought-fighting tools.

There are bazillions of hungry microbes in the soil. Feed them, and they’ll feed your plants, says Mike Serant, chairman of the Organic Horticulture Business Alliance, a group that encourages environmentally conscious practices.

Use compost and organic fertilizer to nourish underground life and create a water-conserving soil. Nutrient-rich compost improves soil structure so that it better holds rain or irrigation and reduces run-off. Water and air penetrate deeper in this loose soil. Roots follow suit and become a bigger mass that promotes a more disease-resistant, less water-needy plant.

“Eighty percent of water used by homes in summer is for outside watering,” Serant says. “Fifty percent of that water is wasted.” Using organics can reduce outside water needs by 25 to 50 percent, he says.

Plant wisely

“Water restrictions may be a way of life for some time, yet this does not mean our landscapes must evolve into gravel and cactus,” says Water- Smart program coordinator Chris LaChance. “It is time to take a new look at how we prepare and maintain our landscapes, making them more resilient, more WaterSmart.”

Choose native plants and non-invasive adapted WaterSmart plants that tolerate periods of drought and flood. Group plants by water needs, LaChance says. (See www.watersmart.cc for suggestions.)

Taylor Moore of the New Nursery compiled a surprising number of organically-grown plants that thrive under twice-a-week water restrictions and with minimal upkeep. They include:

• For color: Portulaca, Cora vinca, Mexican bush sage, society garlic, lantana, ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome, angelonia and firecracker fern.

• Groundcover: Purple heart (Secretsea/Tradescantia), Mexican sedum, wooly stemodia, trailing rosemary, ‘Hamelin’ and Mexican feather grass.

• Shrubs: Bird of paradise bush, Texas sage, esperanza, oleander, plum yew (shade), jasmine primrose, hamelia, ‘Little John’ bottlebrush, elaeagnus, bougainvillea, spirea, needle palm and red yucca.

• Small trees: Pindo palm, vitex, desert willow, chitalpa, erythrina and mountain laurel.

• Large trees: Mexican white oak, Mexican sycamore, cedar elm, Montezuma cypress, bur oak, Chinquapin oak.

Tree basics

Davey Tree district manager Jack Swayze’s three musts for healthier trees:

• Use a slow-release or organic fertilizer to replace or add nutrients that encourage growth and improve stress, disease and insect resistance. There’s no burn with organics, he says.

• Aerate the soil so oxygen and water will travel deeper, encouraging tree roots to do likewise. An arborist can help.

• Water slowly, deeply. When it’s hot and dry, water weekly, soaking the soil at least 12 inches down. Young trees may need twice-a-week watering in such conditions. You’ll need to water less frequently when it’s cool, but water if it doesn’t rain for more than a week.

Plant drought-tolerant trees this winter so roots can settle in before summer. Plant only if you can irrigate; new trees need a good start.

Water efficiently

Determine how much water your sprinkler delivers in a specific amount of time to avoid waste. Shorter watering times prevent run-off, especially with tight soils. Turn the sprinkler on, let the water soak in, then turn it on again, if necessary, to moisten the soil 4 to 6 inches deep.

Water less often but deeply, forcing roots to grow deeper, and water early in the morning, when there’s less loss to evaporation.

Train plants to require less water by slowly backing off the amount you normally use, LaChance says. Most established plants and turf grass can get by on one inch of water once or twice per week.

Conserve and recycle

• Set up a rain barrel.

• Catch and use condensate from air-condioners to water nearby plants.

• Add 2-3 inches of mulch to conserve moisture, reduce soil compaction and keep plant roots at a more even temperature.

• Set your mower at the highest setting and lengthen the time between cuttings, LaChance says. The longer blades help shade the soil and conserve moisture. Lawns cut shorter require more water.