Drought-tolerant planting not only saves resources, it saves you hassle, too. Tom Brown shares the inspiring story of his new dry meadow at West Dean
The hot and dry weather that we all experienced last summer was unusually severe, but among gardeners there is a collective awareness that we are growing plants in more extreme conditions. With this in mind, it’s important to adapt the way in which we garden, and the types of plants that we use may have to change.
Before the drought of last summer, I began a project to put this thinking to the test, using drought-tolerant plants to create a meadow-style planting area. I began by starting a number of plants such as echinacea, eryngiums and salvias from seed. In doing so I was able to cheaply assemble a large quantity of plants to create a naturalistic, effortless-looking effect that would persist for many years.
When the seed-sowing was under way, my team and I cleared an area where the new dry meadow would take shape. To prevent waste, drought-tolerant plants such as Stachys byzantina, Hylotelephium ‘Matrona’ and Kniphofia ‘Fiery Fred’ that were already there were lifted and moved into pots so they could be replanted after the site had been prepared.
Once all the plants and turf had been cleared, the ground was forked over to relieve compaction and give my young plants the best possible start. Then a 10cm-thick layer of recycled, crushed concrete, with pieces at a maximum size of 4cm, was laid across the site to help hold in water and stop weeds.
Planting took place in the late spring of last year, with the bottom third of plants’ rootballs in contact with the soil and the top two-thirds in contact with the recycled concrete layer. Young plants tend to establish more quickly and successfully, so the majority of the plants were in 9cm pots, which also made planting through the concrete much easier.
Drought-tolerant plant heroes
This grouping of easy-to-grow plants thrives in open, sunny positions and copes well with prolonged dry spells, while also offering a complementary range of flower colours and shapes
Limonium gmelinii
A tough and reliable sea lavender which produces sprays of lilac flowers over glossy rosettes of foliage.
Height x spread 60cm x 45cm
Verbena hastata
Quite similar in habit to Verbena bonariensis but with a more branched flower and available in a range of blue and pink tones.
H x S 1.2m x 50cm
Echinacea pallida
Coneflowers enjoy open and sunny positions and pallida is no excepti
