Planting a drought-resistant garden

It’s hard to know how best to manage our gardens in our rapidly changing and unpredictable climate. But one solution may be dry gardens. Designed to withstand long periods without water, they’re never watered except by natural rainfall. Given the right start, plants and grasses whose origins are in hot, dry areas like the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia and California will thrive in such conditions and still manage to look gorgeous throughout the year.

 

The Dry Garden at Hyde Hall and Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden, both in Essex, have been untouched by hose or watering can since they were planted, even though Hyde Hall gets only approximately 600mm of rain a year – about the same as Jerusalem and Beirut. A kaleidoscope of foliage colours and textures as well as flowers helps to make these gardens endlessly fascinating. Plant shapes are important too – a carefully choreographed mix of mounds, spires, and floaty, airy plants is used at both Hyde Hall and in Beth Chatto’s garden.

 

Plants in dry gardens are generally surrounded by a layer of gravel, meaning that paths and walkways are integrated into the whole creating a flowing, riverine effect. Apart from completing the picture, a thick, stony mulch helps to keep weeds down and moisture in. It’s also a perfect bed for some eager self-seeders such as Erigeron karvinskianus and poppies.

 

You’ll find some pictures of Beth Chatto’s garden here:

https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/garden-nursery/gallery/gravel-garden.htm

 

And inspiration from Hyde Hall here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbnQ-52NJQc

 

What can I plant?

Drought-tolerant plants are often easy to spot. Many have evolved specific characteristics to cope with intense heat and lack of moisture. Silver leaves help to reflect the sun’s rays, fine, fluffy hairs help to trap moisture, small, needle-like or waxy leaves help to prevent evaporation. And aromatic leaves are often a sign of drought tolerance too.

 

You should be able to get year round interest in a dry garden. In winter this comes from the evergreen structure of small or medium-sized conifers such as junipers, evergreen shrubs and the uncut seed heads and foliage of grasses and flowers such as phlomis and Verbena bonariensis. Late spring bulbs like alliums lead the way for summer and autumn flowers.

 

Dry gardens are designed for open, sunny spaces – the idea is that their plants are sun lovers. But there are a few plants that will be happy in some shade as well as tolerating dry conditions. Some are listed below.

 

Plant ideas (some are evergreen, some are not, so check before you buy)

 

Trees:

A tree here and there can draw the eye and add a point of interest but keep them to a minimum even in a large garden. You don’t want to create too much shade – that’s not the point!

If you have a large garden you might be tempted by one of the upright Italian cypresses (for example Cupressus sempervivens Stricta Group) or a drought-tolerant eucalyptus. These are both high impact trees with gloriously aromatic leaves and Italian cypress have the advantage of casting a tall, thin shadow. But be careful which one you buy – they can grow out of all proportion to the rest of your garden if you get the wrong one. Junipers are probably a safer bet  – they come in all shapes and sizes and it’s easier to find one that suits your garden. Underused but delightful Pyrus salicifolia is also drought tolerant once established.

 

Shrubs:

Evergreens include creamy-flowered Pittosporum tobira, rosemary, hebes (loved by pollinators), and our unsung national hero/ine, gorse, which can produce its golden yellow flowers from January right through to June. Its dense thickets also provide a safe haven for birds in harsh weather. Cistus produce a profusion of papery flowers in white, pink or magenta and several have the added bonus of aromatic leaves.

 

• Did you know?

The leaves of some cistus are the source of labdanum, a resin valued for millennia and still used today in the perfume industry. In ancient times it was collected in part by the rather odd method of combing the beards and thighs of goats and sheep that had grazed on the plants.

 

Tall and feature plants:

Majestic echiums, elegant verbascums, stately acanthus, plus blue and white agapanthus, lime-topped Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii, multi-coloured bearded irises, Perovskia  ‘Blue Spire’ (Russian sage) and Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender).

 

Ground cover:

Erigeron karvinskianus, woolly Stachys byzantina  (lambs’ ears), Centaurea bella, delicious thyme and intriguing, caterpillar-like Euphorbia myrsinites.

 

Mounds:

Silver-leaved and aromatic santolina and artemisias such as A. schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’ or A.’Powis Castle’ and smaller hebes.

 

Grasses and plants with a light airy feel:

Panicum virgatum, Stipa gigantea, Stipa tenuissima, Catananche caerulea, Verbena bonariensis, gorgeous fluffy-headed Pennisetum alopecuroides.

 

Pops of colour and interest:

Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppies) in ice cream shades from cream to orange through to pink, opium poppy Papaver somniferum in pinks and mauve, purple and white alliums, silver/blue eryngiums (sea holly), lemon-yellow Phlomis russeliana or lilac-flowered P. purpurea, some salvias -for example  Salvia nemorosa or S. ‘Javier’ and hylotelephiums (previously called sedum) such as snow-white H. telephium ‘Stardust’.

 

Part-shade:

Japanese anemones, Liriope muscari, some euphorbias, for example E. amygdaloides var. robbiae, fat-leaved bergenias, Geranium macrorrhizum, Scilla peruviana.

 

https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/discover/our-blog/guides/the-gravel-garden-and-self-seeding-plants.htm

 

How do I create a dry garden?

Drought-tolerant plants need good drainage. Sandy soil is free draining so doesn’t really need anything doing to it before you plant says Ian Bull from Hyde Hall. If your soil is heavy, however, it’s important to add lots of coarse grit and sharp sand. It can be done! Hyde Hall’s Dry Garden has its foundations on clay soil.

 

Whatever your soil it’s a good idea to dig in a little compost too, but don’t be tempted to add too much. These are plants that don’t like a rich growing medium; in their natural habitat they grow on poor, stony soils.

 

Once you’ve prepared the soil, cover the area in a 5cm layer of gravel.

 

Then soak the root balls of your plants in water – ideally for a couple of hours – before digging their planting holes and putting them in. Beth Chatto used hoses to map out the planted and unplanted areas. Try to weave together a combination of ground cover through taller plants, airy plants through mounds and so on.

 

Once everything’s in the ground water thoroughly. Give it a really good drenching – this will encourage the roots downwards.  All plants need some moisture so it’s important for them to establish deep roots to reach down to the damper areas when it’s been very dry.

 

After a couple of weeks water well again. That should be enough for most plants. Keep an eye on trees and shrubs though, says Asa Gregers-Warg of Beth Chatto’s Garden, they may need additional water to establish.

 

Dry garden tips:

Always water on the ground close to the plant, so that the moisture has a direct route to the roots.

 

The best time to start your garden is in spring as this will allow plants to establish before conditions become difficult. You may also find that the soil in your garden – especially if it has quite a high clay content – resembles cement after a long, dry period and is almost impossible to dig into. You’ll sweat an awful lot for almost no reward.

 

It’s best to buy younger, smaller plants as they bed in and make themselves at home more easily than larger, more mature ones.

 

If you’re desperate to get started in summer, however, try planting in pots for this year and transplant to your garden in spring. If you’re doing it this way, you’ll need to water your plants fairly regularly as they won’t have the same access to moisture as plants in open ground.

 

There’s some really good advice on how to design and plant a dry garden here:

https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/expert-advice/gardeners-tips/create-a-gravel-garden/

https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall/garden-highlights/dry-garden

 

 

Dry gardens are sustainable and low maintenance. As well as cutting out the need for watering they require less weeding and little or no fertiliser, reducing the use of chemicals. Many of the plants used are pollinator friendly and so encourage biodiversity. And a surprising large number of plants are drought-tolerant if you give them a good start and soil conditions that please them. With good preparation and the right plants you’ll have a beautiful garden all year round.

 

Looking for a particular plant for a particular spot; even drought tolerant plants, try our plant finder here