Water plays a crucial role in the garden, and not only for plants. Arit Anderson explains its benefits for humans, wildlife and the wider environment
When I moved to Twickenham in Greater London, I didn’t really have ‘water’ on my mind. But now, 12 years on, I feel so lucky to live just a seven-minute walk from the River Thames.
Being near to water, especially in this changing climate, has been an interesting experience. Whenever the river overflows its banks at high tide, the park nearby floods and instantly becomes a wetland, attracting an array of wild birds and encouraging water-loving plants – the whole ecosystem changes. And, on a scorching hot day, as soon as you reach the riverbank the temperature dips due to the water evaporation. Similarly, the introduction of water to a garden can make a huge difference, however small the source.
Changing climate
In a changing climate, we’re seeing more frequent weather extremes including long-lasting thundery downpours followed by long spells of drought. Our need for water is often out of step with supply: we have too much when it’s wet, and too little when it’s dry. The answer is to implement a kind of ‘storm water management system’ to create a more sustainable way of watering plants without drawing water from the mains or letting rain escape in a downpour, quite literally, down the drain.
First, it’s about slowing the flow. There are lots of ways to do this: we can fill our gardens with plants whose roots can take up water; we can grow trees in our gardens to intercept and utilise the rain in their leafy canopy; and we can create healthy soil full of organic matter that will retain more water in its structure and keep water available underground, rather than allowing it to run off. Rain gardens are designed to collect a surge of water within low, shallow, hollowed areas. These temporary reservoirs will hold water for approximately 48 hours after a storm, allowing the excess water to slowly percolate through the soil. They require moisture-loving bog plants that can stand in water for that amount of time, with more drought-resilient plants at the edges (the Grey to Green project in Sheffield is a great example of how this works).
Second, it’s about collecting rain. Most of us can save and treasure this precious commodity, storing it in water butts connecte
