Water ways

Climate change means we are all having to rethink the way we garden. If we want a low-maintenance garden that will largely look after itself without watering, we need plants that can cope with hot, dry weather. Bleached summer lawns are becoming the norm, as are gardens that are burnt out and fading from July onwards. But there are lots of ways we can future-proof our gardens to make them more resilient to what seem to be increasingly long British summers.

There’s no escaping the reality of climate change. The UK’s 10 hottest summers on record have all been in the last 20 years. The Met Office predicts that over the next 50 years, UK winters could be up to 4.5°C warmer and 30 per cent wetter, and summers up to 6°C warmer and 60 per cent drier, and we’re particularly vulnerable in the south of the country. There’s an urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and remove carbon dioxide from the air, which means our gardens increasingly need to cope with the extremes of prolonged drought and heavy storms.

This is not a new concept. Scientists have been concerned about global warming since the 1950s. Beth Chatto, with her ‘right plant, right place’ approach, planted her famous gravel garden over 30 years ago as an experiment to see which plants would survive in full sun without any irrigation, in an area of Essex with low annual rainfall. A quick search on Amazon finds a wide selection of books available on the themes of drought-friendly plants and waterefficient gardening. It’s a consideration for all gardeners going forwards, as we have to cope with heatwaves and changing seasons, and should therefore select plants for their ability to cope with their conditions, not just for how they look.

When choosing plants that will survive through periods of drought, go for ones that originate from hot, dry countries, that have naturally adapted to these conditions. There are plenty of hardy succulents or Mediterranean plants from mountainous regions that naturally experience hot summers, as well as cold winters. Narrow-leaved ornamental grasses are good contenders, as are strappy-leaved agapanthus and phormiums. Succulent leaves that store water in them, such as sedums, or silvery leaves that reflect the heat, such as lavender and artemisia, will also fair well. The rhizomes of bearded irises will happily sit in baking sun. Hairy leaves, such as those of Stachys byzantina or verbascums, are another plant adaptation that makes them more drought-resistant. Sea hollies have deep tap roots that seek out water, and tough silvery leaves that don’t suffer in drought.

There are also lots of annuals that flower well in dry conditions, especially if you’ve grown them in situ from seed, so they’ve had a chance to develop a good root system without being disturbed. Bristol-based garden designer Jane Porter included a selection of drought-tolerant annuals in her garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year, such as Cerinthe major, poppies and love-in-a-mist ( Nigella damascena ).

New perennials should ideally go in the ground when they are still small, and in spring as the soil is warming up, so that they get chance to establish before a cold, damp winter. Prepare the soil well by adding organic matter such as compost or well-rotted manure, which will help it to absorb and retain water. Water well after planting and add a thick layer of mulch to help conserve moisture in the ground. This could be a deep layer of compost, well-rotted manure or bark chippings, or a layer of gravel. Gravel is a particularly good mulch around succulents, which may rot in winter if they are subject to prolonged damp and cold around the base. Consider replacing a border or an area of lawn with a gravel garden, and group together plants that have similar watering requirements to avoid over or under-watering.

We should all avoid wasting water, but if hosepipe bans are in place, then you will need to prioritise the areas of the garden that need it, such as pots, the veg plot and newly planted trees and shrubs. Don’t worry about the lawn. Even if it’s parched and bare, the lawn is the first thing to recover once the rain returns. Move pots into the shade temporarily, so you don’t have to water them as often. Water in the mornings and evenings when it’s cooler, and direct the water at the base of the plants so it gets down to the roots rather than splashing on the leaves, which can cause them to scorch, and also just evaporates before it gets to the roots. Re-use grey water from the house if you can, from sinks and baths. Install water butts on downpipes from your house, shed and garage to collect as much precious rainwater as possible to use on the garden. Avoid frequent shallow watering, instead water less frequently but with greater quantities that will soak down into the soil and encourage deeper roots that are better able to withstand drought.

Regular checks on your garden’s general health are also a good idea, so you can alleviate any additional stress from pests and diseases, or competition for limited water from weeds. n

• ellyswellies.co.uk

Plant of the Month: Sempervivums

These easy-to-grow, tough little succulents won’t bat an eyelid when water deprived and blasted with sunshine. Also known as houseleeks, they are extremely tolerant of cold and frosts, although they won’t like the combination of cold and damp, so need free-draining soil. They look great in pots, shallow bowls or troughs, where you can mix in grit or sharp sand with the compost to improve drainage, and perhaps move to somewhere sheltered from heavy rain in winter. They are good in groups, where they’ll create a mosaic of patterns, colours and textures. Alternatively, grow them in a rock garden or gravel garden, or on a green roof. There are lots of different varieties available with slight variations in colour and form, so are nice to collect if you are that way inclined. Most are evergreen, with rosettes of pointy, fleshy leaves in greens, greys and purple-reds. They also send up fascinating and exotic-looking starry flowers on fleshy stalks. I love the way they spread so easily, producing ‘babies’ around their edges, that can then be pulled away from the parent plant and potted up individually to make free new plants.