Top tips on a drought resistant garden

Following two very dry years gardeners are now experiencing a hose pipe ban that make life difficult to keep our garden plants healthy and growing, if this trend of dry weather continues then we will have a to adapt to different ways are gardening.

One of which means that we are only allowed to water our garden plants with watering cans. An old saying that is still very true today is that “a hoe is better than a hose”, this is because if the surface of the soil cracks in the baking sun, moisture will evaporate through the cracks, my recommendation is that no matter how small or large your garden is hoe your beds and borders at least once a week.

The other most important advantage of this constant hoeing is that it will keep the weed seedlings from getting established as weeds in your garden as any weeds that grow in your garden will be competing for what moisture there is in the soil. There are ways in which you can help retain moisture in the soil.

Mulching the soil around your, trees, shrubs and plants with garden compost or composted leaf mould. A layer of chipped bark some 4 to 5 centimetres thick is another method, the other advantage of using bark is that it will also help keep the weeds under control. Creating a gravel garden is another method of retaining moisture in the soil, first you will need to cultivate your soil to make sure that your soil is free of deep rooted weeds, remove any large stones and rake the soil surface level before laying ‘ground covering fabric’ which is available in Garden Centres then lay your gravel or chippings on top of the fabric. Ground covering fabric will help prevent weeds from growing and the gravel will prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil surface

When the use of hose pipes is banned watering is a problem, we need to conserve as much of the water as we can that is used in the home to reuse on the garden as possible. Having a water butt can trap any water that falls on the roofs of our homes, garages, greenhouses, sheds and conservatories is one solution. Some people even reuse their bathwater on their gardens by diverting down pipes to water butts. It is important to water plants in the garden in the evening as late as possible when the sun has set, this way most of the water will be taken up by the plants through their roots in the evening rather than being lost to evaporation

When planting up a new container it is important to consider what your container is made of. Plastic containers for example are non porous so that no water will be lost though the sides of the container, whilst wooden barrels and terracotta containers are porous but do not let this stop you from buying these decorative containers - line the inside with polythene before planting up but leaving the bottom of the container free for drainage. Use a loam based John Innes compost or a Multi-purpose with added John Innes compost as these composts have a much greater moisture retaining capacity

There is a wide range of shrubs and plants available that are better suited to grow in dry conditions. When selecting bedding plants for example Pelargonium crispum ‘Variegatum’ with their scented leaves and Zonal Pelargononiums commonly known to us all as geraniums familiar to most English gardens in the summer - all originate from South Africa so they are best suited to growing in drier conditions. Osteospermum jucundum with their brightly coloured daisy like flowers are ideal for container planting. Other bedding plants include Dimorphotheaca sinuata commonly known as ‘Star of the veldt’ a very similar flower to Ostospermum jucundum with bright yellow daisy like flowers, Gazainia with grey green ‘felted’ leaves and bright daisy like flower that are brightly colour such as deep yellow, orange, pink or white once established will stand even the driest borders. There are two very similar silver foliaged bedding plants that are commonly planted in gardens and commercial bedding schemes, Pyrethrum ptarmicflorum with silver feathery foliage and Cineraria maritima with broader silver leaves both ideal for planting at the front of borders, in groups or in containers growing up to 30 centimetres high, all these plants will add colour to your garden, they are half-hardy annuals so are frost tender until the end of May

Decorative succulents grow in shallow terracotta containers on the patio, in shallow pans using John Innes No 2 compost with added horticultural grit require very little watering – just plenty of summer sunshine. Plants such as Aeonium ‘Zwartkop with its beautiful bronze fleshy leaves that grow in rosettes that crown the stems. Aloe ferox with their up right growing thick fleshy grey green leaves that are attractively pitted. Agave americana with dark blue sword like leaves that have a sharp needle pointon the end of each leaf that you will need to be aware of, there other attractive variegated varieties available. Echeveria is another succulent with very fleshy leaves that again grow in rossettes on the surface of the soil in various shades of greys and pinkish-greyish blues. Another interesting plant is Kalanchoe pumula with its wiry stems that have tiny green leaves at the growing points. Add to these plants a list of hardy alpines such as the wide range Sedum varieties commonly known as ‘Stonecrop’ that simply grow and creep over the surface of your container. There seems to be no end to the new varieties of Semperviviums that are introduced each year by Alpine Growers. Sempervivums are hardy small alpines that grow in soft arrow shaped leaves in rosettes on the soil surface, in various colours of greens, greys, purples and shades of plum red. There is also a range of Sempervivums that are covered in a soft white ‘cobwebb’ – have no ‘fear’ it is not some dreaded disease, it is part of the natural growing habit of of these plants., a single plant spreads by growing a rosette new plants around itself which you can very soon replant else where. There is a further wide range of alpines that can be grown in containers on the patio that are a good alternative to growing bedding plants which require less water to keep them growing healthy during hot dry spells. Once you have created your succulent container top the soil with horticultural or alpine grit not just for decoration but to keep the leaves that grow on the soil surface dry, this way you are creating there natural growing conditions in the wild. Just remember that most succulents are not winter hardy and will need to be kept in a light airy frost free plant during the winter such as a greenhouse or conservatory or a spare window sill. Damp soil or over watered soil can also be a killer for them even in the height of summer on the drier side.

There is a somewhat limited range of herbaceous that are tolerant to dry soils conditions. New plants will need to be watered to get established after planting but once they have their roots searching for moisture they can stand fairly dry soil conditions. The Dianthus family has a wide range of choice from small colourful alpine varieties that grow in the soil surface to the stately border varieties such as the modern ‘Devon range’ of varieties that are highly coloured and richly scented with perfume on a hot summers day. Euphorbia amygdaloides variety ‘robbiae’ is just one of this tough family of perennials that will stand some periods of dry weather, the foliage will very soon recover when it rains . The Eryngium ‘Sea Holly’ is very verstile family in dry weather, there is several well known varieties, Eryngium giganteum (Miss Willmott’s Ghost) from a rosette of heart-shaped, green leaves, Eryngium giganteum produces stiff, branching stems that are almost white, the stems carry barrel-shaped flower heads, each 6cm high, and are surrounded by impressively jagged, pale grey bracts. Iris, is a large family of many species , Iris Siberica is one with many varieties and varied colours of beautiful shaped flowers from dark purple, pink, yellow, blues to white, Iris like their rhysones (roots) to bake in the sun, when replanting plant the ‘rhysones’ on the soil surface. Nepeta mussinii (Catmint) with grey green rounded wrinkled leaves on long stems that are topped with scented blue flower spikes borne over many weeks during the summer months. Salvia is another family of plants, many with silvery grey green leaves thrive in dry growing conditions.

There is also a good number of grasses that will survive in dry growing conditions,one well known grass is Stipa calamagrostis (Feather grass), grasses are very hardy perennials that will turn yellow in dry weather but once they get some moisture again they regain colour in their stems. Stipa calamagrostis produces impressive creamy feathery plumes up to 30 cm long in late summer that will remain colourful on their stems during the winter months to add colour to the garden. Leymus arenarious (Lyme grass) is a blue grass with very attractive tufted fescues, another variety with blue leaves is Festuca glauca. The Queen of grasses must be Stipa Gigantica (Gaint feather grass or golden oats) with its impressive stems up to 250 cm high, crowned during late summer with a ‘haze of golden oat-like seed heads that are very conspicuous

In the shrub garden there is a good number of attractive shrubs that can be planted. Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ is really just grown for its deeply cut silver foliage, it grows in a mound some 60/75 cm high, Artimisia rarely ever flowers it is just grown for its very attractive foliage. Many of the shrubs that are drought tolorant have silver leaves one of these shrubs is Brachyglottis (Duneedin Group) ‘Sunshine’ this rather lax shrub forms a dense mound some 100/120 cm high with grey-green foliage, each oval shaped leaf has a white down on the underside of the leaf. The shrub has bright yellow daisy like flowers during summer. Ceanthus x delileanus ‘Glorie de Versailles’ also known as California lilac, this is a deciduous variety of ceanothus that bears slightly fragrant blue flowers in clusters during the summer growing around 2 metres high. Cytisus x praecox is one of many colourful varieties of cytisus with pea like flowers during late spring that are easy to grow and are attractive in any garden , some varieties are low growing where as others will grow up 150 cm high. Another very similar bright yellow flower is Genista aetnenis (Mount Etna broom), this shrub can grow up to 6 metres high so not for planting is a small gardens. Spartium junceum (Spanish broom) is a another golden yellow flowering shrub that has pea like flower similar to Genista and Cytisus flowers, this broom can grow up to 3metres high. Cistus is a family group of shrubs all with similar shaped flowers like those of flattened buttercup flowers. Cistis x argenteus ‘Silver Pink’ has beautiful pale pink flowers in early to mid summer, the bushy shrub has greyish green leaves growing up to a metre high is just one variety of this shrub that is available others have either white or various shades of pink and ‘purple blotched’ flowers. Another shrub belonging to this genetic family is Halimocistus winteronensis, this shrub is ground covering with creamy yellow flowers and a maroon splash at the base of the petals, . Every garden should have room for just a ‘lavender’ growing in their garden for their perfume and scent when in flowers and also to attract the bees and insects to our gardens. There is a wide range of varieties and colours that are either white, pink or various shades of blue. Lavender is so easy to grow just needs pruning after the flowers have finished in the autumn

If you were considering a tree to grow for drought conditions Eucalyptus gunnii would be your ideal choice with its small round circular silvery blue juvenile leaves that elongate with age, there are a number other of beautiful varieties available that originate from Australia and Asia. Remember when planting any variety of Eucalyptus that they should be planted well away from any building or brick wall as they are rapid growers and have roots that will take all the moisture from the soil causing cracks in the soil and can disturbed the foundations of buildings and walls. Eucalyptus however can be pruned hard every few years to restrict its size. In recent years they have be prone to winter damage in very cold winters.

Lawns will suffer during drought conditions, with a hose pipe ban in force it is best not to cut your lawn so frequently, also lift the lawn mower blades slightly higher than you would normally have them set at this time of year. Once it rains again even the brownest lawns will recover

At the present during the hose pipe ban householders are not allowed to use a hose pipe for irrigating the garden or water hanging baskets and containers, however at the time of writing this article the use of drip or trickle irrigation water systems fitted with a pressure reducing value and a timer, that are not hand held and which place water by drip directly onto the soil surface or beneath the soil surface, without any surface run off or dispersion of water through the air using a jet or mist is still permitted