In the UK, climate change is increasingly affecting all our gardens and the plant choices we make. We’re progressing towards more Mediterranean-like conditions, with longer, hotter, drier summers coupled with warm but wetter winters and more erratic, heavy downpours. The searing summer of 2022 saw hosepipe bans, straw-coloured lawns, wilted herbaceous borders and scorched ever-‘greens’. Taking our lead from gardens already thriving in such conditions, forward-thinking designers and the availability of a raft of drought-tolerant plants, we need to begin to adapt our garden design, planting and water-management techniques to create more sustainable, climate-relevant gardens with a biodiverse, naturalistic aesthetic.
Gravel gardens set on free-draining soils offer a positive and practical response to climate change. They’re attractive, more sustainable, affordable and lower maintenance compared to eco-limited lawns and barren, impermeable patios. Their plants need minimal watering once established and they encourage a diverse range of beneficial pollinating insects. A gravel mulch also helps to reduce water loss, maintain more
