Professional boiler advice could help firms save £400m Lift your spirits with new home design, says Linda Barker How to protect your garden from drought

(via ratedpeople.com)

Drought is back in the news again and already hitting gardeners in some parts of the UK. I can still remember the last real drought of ’76, only the ants and the Californian poppies survived, everything else wilted and turned brown and crisp. Thankfully this time, it’s still early in the growing season so there are things you can do now to keep your garden looking good.

Protect Your Soil

The first thing to do is to protect the water in your soil by mulching – shovelling a thick (5cm or so) layer of home-made compost, leafmould or council-bought green-waste compost onto the soil. This locks in the moisture by preventing evaporation. Do it after a thorough watering or a heavy shower – not when the soil is dry, or it locks in dryness instead. Mulching will keep roots cool and as it breaks down and is incorporated by worms, it becomes a sponge of water-retaining humus. If you don’t make your own compost, try calling your local council as many parks/waste services departments produce and sell it cheap. Shovelling mulch is a heavy job but will save work later as the covering over the soil will also help to block out weeds.

Collect Water

There may not be much rain falling, but you don’t want to waste a drop. I collect my rainwater in an old wooden whisky barrel that’s connected to the downpipe on my house so the rain that falls onto the roof gets funnelled straight into the butt. I also use a diverter kit to send water back down the gutter once the butt is full. Remember to raise the butt up on bricks so you can fit your watering can under the tap.

Prioritise the Newbies

Any ‘new’ plants – those in the ground for less than a year – will suffer first in a drought due to their immature root systems, so make them your priority if you have to choose. A good tip to get water to soak in and not run off as tends to happen on hard, dry soil, is to rake up soil into a slightly sunken crater just around the dripline (30cm from the stem) so it puddles in that spot. If you’re adding new plants, it’s essential they go in the ground moist so immerse pots in a bucket of water for a good half an hour beforehand and fork plenty of compost into the planting hole which will act like a sponge around the roots. Mycorrhizal fungi (available as Toby’s Planting Powder) sprinkled on roots will also help plants establish by quickly extending the root system and making plants more self-sufficient.

Pick Versatile Plants

Ornamental grasses, such as miscanthus and stipa, are a particularly good way to hedge your bets, as their architectural foliage dries to cornfield gold in the heat but should the weathermen get it wrong they’ll luxuriate in the rain too, growing lush and large. They look good with the yellow daisies of rudbeckia, the tall skinny stems of purple-flowered Verbena bonariensis and feathery bronze fennel which also cope well when it’s dry.

Containers

Forget thirsty pansies and petunias, and go for balcony geraniums like they do in the Med – they come in red, white and salmon, as well as deep maroon, just gorgeous in a pale terracotta. The zinc-coloured cascading leaves of Dichondra Silver Falls are very effective planted on their own in baskets and terracotta pots, while a personal favourite of mine Pelargonium ‘Prince of Orange’ is a real coper, with pale-pink flowers and leaves that release a zesty citrus scent when brushed. Succulents which hold water in their fleshy leaves, like aeonium and agave, are also tried and tested survivors, and they also live from year to year, but you’ll need somewhere to keep them through winter.

Lawns

If you’re replacing your lawn this spring, choose modern breeds of grass such as RTF (available as turf or seed). This has deep roots so stays green far longer than traditional types. An old lawn will bounce back after a drought but keep it green for longer by cutting less frequently and raising the blades on the mower.
And finally… if all else fails, invest £1.99 in a pack of Californian poppy seeds!