@catspa_zone9sunset14 Thank you - That's what I'm familiar with as well - I wonder if there is a system without a cistern or reservoir, based on rainwater - how did they do this in these old gardens, and on Mediterranean slopes?

Do you mean simply redirecting water when it rains so that it is concentrated on the rose bed? Most irrigation systems rely on reservoirs or cisterns of some sort because rainfall isn't regular enough in the places where irrigation systems are actually needed to grow water-thirsty plants -- unlike, say, western Massachusetts: when I gardened there, I hardly ever broke out a hose; in fact, if anything, there was generally too much rain and humidity during the summer, creating all sorts of THOSE kinds of problems.

Thinking on it, though, I do remember including in my lecture about water for my Bio classes a bit about the gravity-fed falaj systems of the Middle East that were (actually, still are) used to irrigate Damask roses raised for rose water. But those generally did rely on some sort of reservoir, some of them being natural subterranean aquifers within mountains. If you Google "falaj system" (or "aflaj system"), you can easily get detailed info about them.

@catspa_zone9sunset14 - yes, but that would be a simple raingarden, and I'm looking for options slightly more complex than that. I've got the rainwater, just looking for rose-garden level examples of how to direct it. And I'm off to look into Falaj/aflaj - this is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to find, thank you!!!

When you say you’ve ‘got the rain water’, do you mean you generally have a lot of rainfall or you have access to a nearby freshwater source?

To redirect rainwater falling directly on your property, you have to capture it in some sort of receptacle first. The old Spanish/Arabian systems do channel water over great distances via gravity feed, but usually diverted or drawn from a freshwater source - river, mountain spring, aquifer etc.

There is the chain method, whereby rainwater from a building’s guttering is directed down vertical chains to specific plants from the roof, but that assumes your roses are placed conveniently close to a building overhang to benefit.

You could collect and funnel rainwater with large tent-like structures stretched between poles with a hole in the middle, desert-style. However, that’s not a particularly attractive or practical solution for your average garden.

In a previous rural property with no electricity or municipal water, I had series of large water barrels raised about 3ft above ground, with permeable seep hose connected to each, directing water to vegetable beds. They were filled from a nearby river with a small petrol water pump, plus leaving the covers off when rain was expected.

I have a similarly simple gravity-fed seepage hose system in my current home, directed to a large bed, which some roses do benefit from. The water source is rainwater falling on the garage roof, connected via a downpipe to a rainwater barrel

You might check out Bermuda - it was a long time when we were there but as I reacall every building had a way to catch rain water falling on its roof - there were a lot of gardens, and a lot of roses, so they might have had a system to water them.

Jackie

@NollieSpainZ9 thank you - yes, it's rainwater that I have to work with, and there is plenty of it. Although it would be ideal, I don't have a building or raingutter or receptacles of any kind, however - I'm looking at swales and small-scale keyline design - moving the water across a slope and capturing it along that path to direct it where it's most needed.

Some of the best examples of this kind of work in residential gardens are by Brad Lancaster, who harvests rain in Tucson, Arizona to prove that it can be done anywhere - it's remarkable, really. My situation will not be nearly as difficult!

@jacqueline9CA thank you! This is easily googled and it looks like there are some good sources, I appreciate the tip!

Ah, swales! I had forgotten about those from permaculture days. For no logical reason, I was imagining your garden as flat.

Not the same, but when I first moved to Spain I was puzzled by the growing method the old guys used in their ‘huertos’, with vegetables planted on high raised ridges surrounded by deep channels that all connected. Until I saw them flooding said channels to the brim. They usually had well water or a river as a source though.

@NollieSpainZ9 what you describe about the huertos is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for! There are quite a few methods similar to this that are designed to keep the rain from running directly off the slopes and sinking into the ground instead.