Ultimate guide to The dry garden

FEBRUARY 2020 might have proved the wettest on record here in the UK, but it was followed by the sunniest spring and the driest May. Soils were parched, plants wilted and gardeners reached for their hose pipes and watering cans. In future, it seems likely that we can expect warmer and more unpredictable weather, making the mantra ‘right plant, right place’ more pertinent than ever.

Anyone gardening on light soils in the drier counties or replanting sun-baked south- or west-facing borders might want to consider a ‘dry garden’. These are beds of well-drained soil where a range of drought-beating plants will thrive – look for those with hairy, silvery, needle-like, waxy or succulent