If we knew what was in-store weatherwise, gardening wouldn’t be half the fun or challenge that it is. This year it’s been relentless rain so far, with a heatwave promised. Geoff Stonebanks considers ways to create a drought tolerant garden.
With the worrying trend in the last few years of scorching summers and the inevitable hose-pipe bans, many gardeners are having to think very carefully about their plots. As someone who has opened their own garden for 16 years now and seen in excess of 23,000 visitors since 2009, it is vitally important for me to ensure that my garden looks its very best for family, friends and especially, paying visitors throughout the summer months and beyond.
Until a few years ago, that meant filling the garden with 300 plus containers, proudly displaying hundreds of summer annuals. Something had to give, not only was it becoming time-consuming and extremely stressful in times of a hose pipe ban, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult, as I was 71 this year.
The garden had a well-established reputation for the amazing colours, created by the many vibrant displays each summer. I and many other gardeners have become very conscious of the need to find alternative ways to inspire family, friends and visitors, encompassing the many issues around drought tolerance.
BBC Gardeners’ World features Driftwood-by-sea (again)
It was on this basis that BBC Gardeners’ World filmed a second film about the garden, which was shot last August and broadcast in episode 2 of his year’s series, back on 22nd March 2024.
It was introduced on Gardeners’ World by Monty Don with the words “Now, when it comes to growing conditions, I don’t think you will find any garden in the land that is more different to Longmeadow than that belonging to Geoff Stonebanks down on the south coast.”
Two clear messages that emerged from the film they broadcast were:-
- My philosophy that you should grow what you like, not necessarily what the experts say, in my world, plants will sink or swim but if you look after them, they will swim.
- The emphasis that, in my belief, you are the only expert of your garden and therefore you should just take chances with plants and go for it.
Making gardening easier
Like many garden-owners, both those who open and I guess many others, I decided there had to be an easier way of creating that necessary wow factor to sustain visitor interest and make life a little easier for myself in my 70’s, but at the same time, creating something that I too enjoyed looking out on from the kitchen window, like the new patio by the shed!
This is the latest change to my garden, replacing the sunken pond and all the planting around it with a corten steel wall and circular pond. The planting around involves many succulents and more drought tolerant plants. Those included in my garden are Verbena bonariensis, grasses, like Stipa tenuissima and Miscanthus sinensis, lavender, and euphorbia but name but a few.
Catmint works well too and is growing behind the green bench in my garden. I’ve favoured geraniums and osteospermums this summer instead of summer bedding plants. Another great favourite of mine is Erigeron karvinskianus, which I have growing all over my garden, both front and rear.
Saving water
Climate change will continually present all garden owners with the challenge of using much less water, thereby forcing us to choose plants that suit our growing conditions becoming far more paramount. Gardening through the use of drought tolerant plants enables us to do our bit for the environment with the resulting reduced water use. Not to mention the reduction on household bills if metered.
It has been said that around two-thirds of domestic water used on hot summer days goes on gardens, which is going to be extremely hard to sustain. We have all experienced the previous low summer rainfall, meaning water companies then consider asking gardeners to reduce their water consumption or enforce bans. Let’s hope that is not the case this summer, after the excessively wet start to the year.
Using succulents
Beautiful displays are still possible by utilising succulents such as aeoniums, mangave, agave, sedums and sempervivums, all of which are great drought resistant plants with some lovely varieties available that equally attract bees and other pollinators. They are able to store water in their fleshy leaves and stems during wetter spells, and draw on that moisture when needed.
Back in the autumn of 2021, I personally decided to make major changes to my own garden, in order to facilitate more space to display my existing drought tolerant collection, along with many new additions. I opted to create a patio bounded by upturned railway sleepers that created the perfect backdrop for displaying some of my collection, along with the extended use of many geraniums, pelargoniums, eucomis, osteospermum and gazania. Potted palms and ferns greatly added to the mix.
Drought tolerant plants
I have found that over the years, there has been always been a small selection of suitable plants available in garden centres. How wonderful it would be to find our local centres brimming with ideas for a more drought tolerant approach, with a real focus on some of the best plants to use. Great choices I’ve found in my garden, as mentioned above are verbena bonariensis, perfect plants to sway in the breeze, especially appropriate in a seaside garden like mine.
The many colours of osteospermum work well too, along with gazanias, euphorbia, two of my favourites being Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ and Euphorbia mellifera.
I’ve got three fabulous New Zealand Flax or phormiums too, they have been in the ground for 15 years and need little attention or watering. This summer the three plants have thrown up over twenty flower stems between them, they look so dramatic swaying in the breeze.
Useful techniques
Many gardeners need to be educated about trying to make their gardens more resistant to drought and advising them that it is not necessarily about digging them up and starting again, but thinking about appropriate soil cultivation, plant choice and garden maintenance. Using different plants may mean that the feel of the garden will change, but dramatic plantings can easily be achieved from plants that have very low moisture and maintenance demands. A design trick much used in my own garden is to plant everything close together to make sure there’s no open ground that will dry out faster in the summer sun. The addition of water features and fountains around the plot also adds a cooling effect, no matter how hot and dry the weather gets. Enjoy your summer!
