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How to Cope With Hot, Dry Gardens
A hot, dry garden is not necessarily a "problem". Some gardeners spend much time, effort and money trying to create the very conditions you have for free! Look as what grows naturally in the warmer, drier climate of the Mediterranean for proof that a hot site needn't restrict your planting options. Many great gardens in this country can be found in Cornwall, Devon, and East Anglia. Beth Chatto's garden near Colchester is officially a desert, with annual rainfall levels of less than 50 cm. Your soil may be shallow over solid rock, with sand or gravel beneath it - perhaps the topsoil was removed and not replaced. Many plants can thrive in poor, starved soil. Here we give you tips for surviving and thriving in a hot dry garden.
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Remember some design tips. For instant shade, erect an arbour or pergola to cover part of a hot patio. Whilst waiting for plant leaves to grow, use trellis panels across the top or make an awning out of deck chair canvas, weighted down at the ends with timber battens. Choose light coloured materials for paving paths and patios in hot gardens. These will reflect the maximum amount of heat. Timber does not get as hot as concrete or stone for walking on with bare feet.
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Include water close to seating areas. A raised pool which you can sit on the edge of and dip your hands and feet into will be a wonderful cooling feature. The sound of water is also a good cooling agent, so add a spout or fountain to your pool, or make a separate trickling water feature close to your patio.
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Lawns in hot sunny places go brown quickly. Decrease the area of your lawn, and replace with gravel, plants and water.
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If you have space, a zigzag fence or wall makes instant shade in a border and so widens your planting options.
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Plan ahead with tree planting to give dappled shade where you want it, at strategic places in your garden. Learn to love silver foliage plants - these are the group most likely to survive in your garden. Their silver coating helps to prevent moisture loss, so they'll relish the conditions which your garden has to offer. Pick out plants that are natives of the Mediterranean, Californian, South African, and Australian dry spots. Leave large-leaved plants and those from high, cool places such as the Himalayan alone.
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Many Mediterranean plants thrive in poor soils. To widen your planting options dig in plenty of organic material prior to planting. And apply a good mulch around plants after watering in, to help conserve moisture around their roots. Gravel is particularly good in hot gardens. New planting will welcome some shade in hot, bare gardens, particularly evergreens and conifers. Make plant shades using posts and shade netting or slatted trellis panels. Use pale foliage and flower colours for cool planting effects where you most need them.
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Creating shade is a main priority |
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Formal water features are at their best in these conditions |
Gravel and pebbles compliment the plants you will use |
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