How to treasure your garden in a dry spell

With no significant rain likely soon, we asked our gardening expert Simon Blackhurst, for his top tips on how to garden in dry weather. Tempting as it might be to leave a garden sprinkler on for an hour this will get through twice as much water as an average household uses in a day – an expensive choice if you have a water meter and not the best way to keep your plants happy.

Simon starts by emphasising how important it is to get water to the roots of plants and to avoid water loss. He recommends watering little and often so that the compost remains moist, that way you’ll stop run off from a dry compost.

Watering early in the morning before it gets too warm reduces water loss, but Simon is not a fan of evening watering as this can lead to fungal diseases and encourages pests such as slugs. A top tip is to cut the bottom of a plastic water bottle and sink it drinking end first into the soil next to plants. Adding water into the upturned bottle will get water deep into the soil and avoid wastage.

In dry weather it is important to keep moisture in the soil. Simon believes a great way to do this is by adding a 5cm layer of well-rotted compost or manure to your soil, this will help with water retention as well as improving soil quality.

Simon suggests that we consider collecting or harvesting rainwater using water butts, buckets or any other containers. Not only does this help save water but is also better for the plants as it doesn’t contain the chemicals needed to sanitise drinking water.

If you have a lawn, it is important to mow less frequently as this can stress the grass. If you are able, set your mower on a higher setting as longer grass helps retain moisture and provides shades. Avoid using fertilisers or herbicides as these are less effective in dry conditions and can scorch the grass.

Climate scientists are warning us that we could see longer periods when there is little rainfall as well as times when there are intense downpours causing flash-flooding. Simon accepts that these extreme weather events will make gardening more challenging. He recommends choosing drought-tolerant plants which often have grey-green, waxy or silver leaves that reflect sunlight helping to conserve moisture. Drought-tolerant groundcover plants are great to reduce moisture loss and deter weeds. Succulents can elevate a display amongst other plants and thrive in dry weather.

Finally, Simon highlights how important it is to conserve any water you apply to a plant, for pots ensure you have a drip tray underneath and for beds and borders only water around the base of the plant.

If you have any top tips you would like to share, please get in touch hello@treasuregardening.co.uk.