On the rocks!

Create a drought-resistant gravel border to cut down on watering and enjoy a wealth of Mediterranean plants, says Hazel Sillver, as she reveals how to get started now

- Hazel Sillver

THERE is a wide range of plants that struggle without very well-drained soil, and creating a gravel garden is a great way to enjoy them. Plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and California in the USA thrive in the light, stony conditions and are – by and large – very low maintenance. There is no need to water and minimal weeding; plus, the aromatic and silver-leaved plants that enjoy such dry soil tend to be more resistant to pests and disease. The only slog of a gravel border is its creation, and that can be started now.

Drought-resistant garden

Perhaps the best gravel garden in the UK is found at Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens in Elmstead, near Colchester, Essex. It was created by Beth out of a redundant car park in the early 1990s. Beneath thin topsoil, she found gravel and sand, so – being in a low-rainfall area – she decided to make a drought-resistant garden as an experiment to see what would survive. The plants that thrived (despite the Gravel Garden never being watered) include nepeta, euphorbia, stonecrop, sea holly, salvia, stipa, allium and verbascum.