Plant Gardens 101

I’m just about old enough to remember the long, hot British summer of ’76. It wasn’t the ferocious heat that stuck in my mind so much as the lack of water. The grass went brown, reservoirs dried up and some communities got their water from standpipes in the street.

This year the weather people are forecasting another hot, dry summer for the UK. While that doesn’t guarantee a heatwave of ’76 proportions, it makes sense to start thinking about ways of conserving water and creating a drought-tolerant garden.

The good news is that saving water in the garden is simple, painless and doesn’t require that much effort. There are three areas to focus on: the ground, the water, and your plants.

The ground
Your average garden plants – shrubs, perennials and annuals – have roots which descend no more than 30cm into the soil. It is from this foot or so that your plants get their food and water. By digging in water retaining organic matter, like compost or well rotted horse manure, you will give your plants the chance to soak up water before it sinks out of reach of its roots or evaporates.

Once your soil is conditioned in this way you can prevent further evaporation by adding a loose mulch of chipped bark, gravel, slate chips or cocoa shells. This will also suppress weeds, which would otherwise deprive your plants of their moisture.

The water
Here’s a few key facts about watering:

1. A lawn sprinkler can use as much water in an hour as a family of four does in a day. Your lawn will survive a drought. If you leave your grass to grow a little longer it will help keep some moisture in the ground.

2. Thousands of litres of water fall on your roof every year. By installing water butts you access this free supply of water, which is great news if you’re on a water meter.

3. Watering early morning or late at night dramatically reduces evaporation. Use a watering can rather than a hose, and don’t use a rose, as much of the water doesn’t penetrate deep enough to reach the roots. Established plants in your garden should survive a dry spell without the need for extra water. Only new plants and seedlings will need watering every day.

4. Your shower, bath, sink and laundry water can be used in the garden. Just ensure you don’t use it on edible plants, and that it’s cooled down before watering. Don’t pour it directly on to foliage.

Your plants
With our climate predicted to be turning hotter it might be time to plan a more water-efficient garden. Look for drought-tolerant plants, which conserve water or prevent rapid evaporation through various adaptations. For example, grey leaves (Lavender, Verbascum) reflect heat to conserve moisture, while leathery foliage (Cistus, Salvia) loses less water than soft leaves. Waxy leaves (Pittosporum, Eucalyptus) reduce evaporation, and spikes (Acanthus, Eryngium) enable the plant to lose heat but not much water. Certain ornamental grasses, such as Stipa and Festuca, will also flourish in dry conditions.

Benefits
Apart from the financial benefits of drought-tolerant gardening, such as reducing your metered water bills, there are many environmental benefits to reducing water usage and using collected rainwater. Tap water requires energy to be pumped to our gardens and so is linked to carbon dioxide emissions, and if excessive amounts of water are pumped from the environment, it can harm wildlife in rivers and wetlands.

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© Anna Barker, Lush Landscape and Garden Design Ltd

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