Drought Resistant Garden Lets Gardeners Continue Amidst Climate Change

A drought-resistant garden for a changing environment that doesn't need irrigation. This West Sussex garden was designed to withstand hotter, drier summers and mild, wet winters using mulch, grasses, and gravel.

Inspired by renowned plantswoman Beth Chatto's gravel garden in Colchester, Essex, Jane Gates, a garden designer, started her ideal garden around a historic black barn conversion in the Sussex countryside in 2015 after moving out of London. She had no idea how fast the dry, drought-resistant garden would become necessary given the current climate change.

Unexpected Weather Changes

One of the warmest and driest regions in the UK has traditionally been this region along the south coast. Gates has experimented with appropriate flora throughout the years. However, some have also thrived under more difficult circumstances, especially the larger extremes of hotter, drier summers and mild, wet winters.

Along the process, she has learned some fascinating things. Surprisingly, certain plants, such as the moisture-loving Alchemilla mollis and Astrantia major, have shown to be more drought-resistant than anticipated. Others, like daylilies, have had difficulty. The beautiful artichoke Cynara cardunculus leaps overhead while purple Verbena bonariensis self-sows wildly. However, several plants expressly picked for drought resistance have delighted in the heat.

Starting a Garden

Gates, who inherited a sizable, two-acre field surrounding the barn, says it is precisely south facing, which is a dream after having north-looking gardens in the city. She enjoys this view via double-height, floor-to-ceiling windows. Except for a Magnolia soulangeana ('Susan'), which has survived, it was a blank canvas. A big hedge that divided the area in two was initially removed by Gates and her brother, a contract gardener; they rebuilt the hedge along a border and put a pond next to it. Before planting, they spread a layer of gravel on the area.

According to Gates, "I wanted the area surrounding the front of the house to be quite level, with a large gravel lawn and a terrace made out of engineered, smooth sandstone." The walkways and planting are combined using gravel as a layer through which the plants may grow. The light color of the gravel contrasts wonderfully with the dark color of the barn to give the impression of a calm, natural-looking area.

Gates advises using gravel as a mulch because it "locks moisture into the soil below in summer" and prevents moisture from getting to plant crowns in winter, which can cause them to decay. This makes certain plants more tolerant of severe climates.

Since gravel is a natural stone that must be delivered, it harms the environment. For this reason, Gates only strategically utilized a small amount of it throughout the garden. To retain moisture and provide nutrients to the soil, compost is added annually to other borders. This is especially important around the shrubs and dwarf trees she moved from her former gardens, such as a Catalpa bignonioides and two Cercis canadensis ('Forest Pansy').

Resilient Garden

The garden's height and structure are provided by shrubs and tiny trees.

To be honest, I overplanted; friends have advised me not to dig any more beds," says Gates, who also mentions how much she would want to add additional deep tap-rooted and drought-tolerant Eryngium planum. The future environment will be unpredictable, but as Gates' strategy demonstrates, monitoring what flourishes in nature may also help us survive.

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