Ultimate guide to The dry garden

As warmer weather becomes the norm, it makes sense to fill arid areas in your plot with plants designed to weather a dry spell.

- Anne Swithinbank

FEBRUARY 2020 might have proved the wettest on record here in the UK, but it was followed by the sunniest spring and the driest May. Soils were parched, plants wilted and gardeners reached for their hose pipes and watering cans. In future, it seems likely that we can expect warmer and more unpredictable weather, making the mantra ‘right plant, right place’ more pertinent than ever.

Anyone gardening on light soils in the drier counties or replanting sun-baked south- or west-facing borders might want to consider a ‘dry garden’. These are beds of well-drained soil where a range of drought-beating plants will thrive – look for those with hairy, silvery, needle-like, waxy or succulent leaves.

With so many exciting dry garden plants available, I often think back with nostalgia to the sandy soil and lower rainfall of our previous plot in Surrey. Favourites that flourished there – such as foxtail lilies (eremurus) and French lavender – dwindle fast in the nutrient-rich, water-holding clay and higher rainfall of our current garden in east Devon. Yet close to the buildings we have areas of stony soil in which certain dry garden plants can thrive, especially where slightly raised beds improve winter drainage.

A flavour of the Med

Candidates for a dry garden originate from Mediterranean-type climates, although they’re also found in South Africa, Australia, California, Mexico and South America. At the planning stage, I find it helps to choose a theme or style. You could, perhaps, add plants from a specific country or area; when planting, you might want to opt for a loose, billowing appearance, or maybe create an architectural look where single plants or groups of the same type stand out against a shingle mulch.

Scene setters