How can I protect my garden from drought?

With the changes in our weather and the shift to longer, drier periods, I have been researching and experimenting with how I can best protect my garden at times when there is little or no rain. As much as I want to keep my plants alive and thriving, I don’t want to be reliant on my hosepipe. So, I have been trying to find other ways to make the most of the water available. Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening using only the water that is provided by nature, an concept to which I aspire.

What is the best way to water my plants?

If you water your garden in the heat of the day, most of the water will be lost to evaporation and never reach where it is needed. So, what is the optimum way to use water in the garden and make the most of it. Watering first thing in the morning when the day is cool is best, or later in the evening as an alternative. This minimises water being lost to evaporation and if you don't mind popping into the garden in your PJ’s to do a little watering that's more than acceptable. You also need to make sure that you water for long enough. A really good soaking once a week is far more effective than daily watering, especially if you do it once the plants are out of sunlight.

Breaking up the surface of the soil with a hoe before watering, is another way to make sure that the water can drain through and get to where it is needed. Directing the flow of water at the root of the plant rather than spraying the leaves also ensures maximum benefit. There isn’t much point spraying the leaves with water and in fact this can actually make things worse, as droplets on the leaves can cause scorching when in full sun. I have been experimenting with mounding up the soil to make a little well around the stems of my plants so that the water pools at their roots and sinks down rather than runs away. This is making quite a difference especially in my veg garden. By focussing the water on this spot and filling up the little well, I am using much less water to do the same job.

How can I make the most of the water available?

Storing and saving water by fixing water butts to downpipes and collecting rainwater for later use is a great start. You can now get water butts of all shapes and sizes with some innovative designs which are good enough to have on show. One good downpour can fill a water butt attached to a large roof area and can then keep you going for weeks. Rainwater also has a lower pH than mains water, the latter can gradually raise the pH of your soil over time and reduce the availability of nutrients, especially in hard water areas. You can use ‘grey’ water from your washing up, bath or shower on your garden as long as you don’t store it for more than 24hrs and don’t use it to water edibles. The small dilution of soap in the water can help to break the surface tension of the water in dry periods allowing to soak more evenly into the soil, who knew!

In dry conditions pots and troughs are very tricky to keep going without lots of water and need far more attention than plants in the ground. This year I have slimmed down my pots in number. Having done some research, I am exploring different ways to retain the water to prevent them drying out. These same principles can also be applied to garden beds.

Organic matter incorporated into the soil such as compost, coconut coir, cut up sponge or loofer, spent tea, coffee grounds or vermiculite can help to lock in water, releasing it slowly over time. I am having a go at watering into a small terracotta pot to enable the slow release of water. After plugging the hole at the bottom of the pot, you simply bury it in the soil so that its top matches the soil surface. You then fill the pot with water and the terracotta slowly allows the water to seep through into the soil and feed the plant, brilliant! Plants that are well fertilised are able to make better use of the water available so feeding your plants is another great idea.

In the pots that I am using this year, I have planted them up with less plants. Choosing plants that will cover the surface and trail over the edge helps to protect the soil beneath from drying out. Perennial plants with a thicker leaf like Cymbalaria or Kenilworth ivy do this really well.

Are there plants that can survive drought?

If you want a garden that thrives in hot weather using plants which are better suited to dry conditions is a really good idea. Traditional cottage garden perennials and a green English lawn are difficult to achieve in hot weather without a lot of water. A well-established lawn, with a healthy root system, will withstand periods of drought, especially if you adapt your mowing regime and leave it longer. When grass turns brown it looks like the whole lawn has died, but grass does recover once rains return. Alternatively not mowing at all and using plug planting and the cultivation of some

meadow natives to turn a lawn area are added to lawn areas can help to make the wholeSome plants can get quite stressed during periods of drought so after the drought period ends, if the tops of your plants have suffered severe browning and dieback, it helps to prune them back to where the growth is still green. In some cases, plants that you think have died can sprout new growth the following year if you give them time to do so. Certainly a pittosporum that I thought I had lost last year through drought and cold is having a bit of a fight back at the moment.

We do need to adapt our planting to include plants that are more robust and can survive drought, cold and wet.

· Abelia x grandiflora is a really useful long flowering evergreen shrub which is pretty hardy. This little gem has a long flowering period and scented flowers that are attractive to wildlife.

· Ceanothus (Californian lilac) is an evergreen shrub with an impressive flowering display. This seems to thrive when many other plants are struggling. You can high prune a ceanothus and clip its foliage to keep its size in check. This also allows underplanting in the protected shade beneath.

· Euphorbias or spurges are an extensive family of perennials with many sizes and colours suitable for almost any conditions within the garden. They are really useful in creating impressive plumes of foliage or ground cover. I particularly like a smaller variety ‘fens ruby’ which has the most wonderful red tips to its new foliage.

· Hylotelephium, previously known as Sedum, has succulent fleshy leaves and has performed well for me in my garden, proving both resistant to summer drought and colder winter temperatures. I have had particular success with the ground cover variety ‘coco cola’ as well as a mid-size variety ‘red cauli’ with beautiful foliage and stems.

By looking out for some key characteristics you can become more successful in finding drought tolerant plants for tricky areas in your own garden. Silvery or grey-green leaves help to reflect the rays of the sun and protect the plant when it gets hot and dry. Plants where the leaves have a coating of fine hairs are better at trapping moisture around the leaf surface and protecting plant tissues. Alchemilla or ‘lady’s mantle’ is a good example of this. Its leaves have a distinctly furry texture to the touch. Stachys byzantina or Lambs ear is another similarly fuzzy and drought tolerant plant which provide essential ground cover, shading and covering the soil reducing the evaporation of moisture.

Is mulching the answer?

Mulching with organic matter is another way that you can lock moisture into the soil and prevent it from evaporating. Mulching also stops the surface of the soil becoming rock hard so that when rain comes it soaks through much better into the soil. I have recently discovered the mulch produced by Apsley Farms and bought a 730L dumpy bag to use all over my garden. Apsley’s mulch is a bi-product of the anaerobic digestors on their farm which produce green gas and electricity. Made up of rye, maize, barley and grass, it is processed for 150 days and then bagged up for garden use. I have used this on half my garden so far and the contrast between this and the un-mulched section is significant, the plants seem to be thriving as a result. It’s can be a bit smelly at first but that soon dissipates. I applied mine after watering and when I scraped back a bit of mulch to look at the soil beneath a week later, it’s still moist even with no rain or watering! The added bonus of using a mulch like this is that it is a lovely dark brown and creates the most beautiful backdrop for all my plants. It also seems that slugs and snails hate it, so there has been reduced damage to some of the plants that previously were being munched full of holes.

So, in answer to my original question ‘How can I protect my garden from drought?’ there are lots of ways to fortify your garden against the driest of seasons. Watering at the right time, improving the soil, mulching and using more drought resistant plants being just a few.