Drought and being a bit more waterwise….

So there it is from April 5th we, in the South that is, will be in an official hosepipe ban. Drought has officially hit (21st Feb 2012) due in the main to the drier winters and increasingly warm summers.

DEFRA is asking all of us to help by taking shorter showers, 4 mins which to me sounds like a ship shower (dowse, lather, dowse!) and not running the tap whilst cleaning your teeth – who does that, didn’t your Mother ever tell you about wasting the worlds resources? and pushing up the family water bill!

I have mixed feelings about a hosepipe ban as unlike many gardeners I abhor sprinklers and the mostly inefficient auto-watering systems one sees about the place. Of course I speak as someone with a small enough patch to not worry about watering by hand but then I don’t water anything unless it’s in a pot, in it’s first season of growth or a crop of some sort. Plants shouldn’t need it and doing it just creates bad habits in the plant/tree!

So how can we help ourselves with this imminent water shortage?

Soil

Yes that’s right improving your soil can help with water retention. The more organic matter it contains the better it stores moisture. Organic matter can be added as compost, well rotted farm yard manure or green waste from your council. Typically this is done in late Autumn (November) or Early Spring (Feb/March) when the ground is moist. Spread a thick layer (50-75mm) on top of your soil leaving a 7-10cm gap around the stem/trunk of plants and then let the garden worms do the rest.

Right Plant Right Place

I know I know broken record stuff but it holds true for a reason. Planting moisture loving plants on dry slopes of sandy soil is going to cause a headache even if we didn’t have a drought. Beth Chatto‘s wonderful Dry Garden has shown that even in areas with low rainfall, and they have one of the lowest in the country, it is possible to plant a fabulous garden that won’t guzzle water but will still make a breathtaking display right through from Spring to Autumn.

Good plants to aim for are those you might find in mediterranean countries, silver leaved Lavenders, Salvia’s all sorts of furry and silver leaved plants and of course succulent Sedum, Euphorbia  and Sempervivums. The hairy leaves capture any moisture that falls and traps it for the plant, small leaves transpire less, grey reflects more light, fleshy leaves hold water well and so on. These plants have adapted well to their native environment and we can make use of them in our bid for low water, drier gardening. The RHS do a good drought tolerant plant list but then also investigating your own local varieties is half the fun.

MULCH IT

My favorite topic and a favorite pass time  - I definitely need to get out more – A bit like improving your spoil mulch helps in the retention of water, stopping it evaporating as quickly so the plant has more chance to sup it up. There are lots of types of mulch from black plastic and bark chips to aggregates including gravels.

I get my bark chip from a local Arboriculturalist for paths but for anything going on the border it has to be well seasoned or there is a risk of nitrogen leaching from the bark and causing imbalance in your soil, most shop bought bark chip will be well seasoned.

As with soil improvers make sure this is laid between AUtumn and SPring so that the soil is good and moist before the mulch goes down. Mulch acts as a barrier both ways, so if your soil is dry it will take much longer to get wet.

More solid barriers, like Terram (a permeable black membrane), can be very useful in weed suppression and water retention but I find them a bit annoying if I want to have a fluid planting style – i.e. planting all those things that have tempted me in the local nursery! – it can get tatty if cut too many times and basically should be reserved for industrial style mulching and weed suppression

Water Sensibly

So we’re back to those sprinklers! Water garden plants in the evening, after the heat has gone out of the day. Water at the base of the plant don’t waste if on the leaves, really dowse each plant, soaking it once a week rather than watering every day. The soaking of the soil makes the plant send roots down in search of water rather than noodling about in the top 10cm, which is more prone to drying out and consequently not a great place for a plant to have all its roots!

For pot watering I challenge you to a test, take a couple of pots and water them as normal, after 15 mins take the plant out of the pot, soil and all, and see how far down you watering has gone. I suspect, unless you already know this one, that you water will have gone down a mere cm or two and nothing like the depth of the pot. A good rule of thumb is to soak your pot from below for half an hour, so a deep drip tray  or bucket is good. This encourages the plant to send it’s roots down and also it takes up the water it needs.

One more thing on pots, large pots do better as the fluctuations in temperature and water are reduced, aim for 60cm or bigger. Terracotta are the best for root protection and limiting temperature fluctuations but plastic pots will obviously retain water better. Clustering pots together creates a cooler micro climate. Metal pots are the devils work and basically fry the roots!

Water retaining gels

When making pots or hanging baskets for the summer, mix in water retaining gel to your compost. The crystals soak up water and create tiny reservoirs of wetness to be released later. Do not use them in winter pots or baskets as the same dampness is likely to cause root damage and possibly freeze.

Water Butts

It has to be said they are not the most elegant of things but they are fabulously useful in drought a couple of well placed containers connected to drainpipes will really boost your plants. Rainwater is also far better for plants than chemically treated tap water not to mention keeping the water bills down. Some funky new designs are on the market. You might consider grey water recycling as well but this is a slightly more complex occupation, you can find more information about the how’s here.

One final note to all you lawn lovers, a brown summer lawn is the new green, it will re-grow once it rains, don’t waste your water on the sward!

A bit more info about this drought:

http://www.ceh.ac.uk/news/news_archive/February-2012-UK-hydrological-summary_2012_17.html

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/drought/31749.aspx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/interactive/2012/mar/14/drought-proof-your-home-interactive

and something to annoy the English

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/29/welsh-want-english-pay-for-water

RHS London Plant and Design show – Horticulture Halls 14/15th Feb 2012

Not having been to this RHS showbefore I was delighted to find out it was free to members, I knew that membership card would come in handy one day. Half term is not the best time to be schlepping down to the Big Smoke on the first ‘off peak’ train but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. The London gridlock was much much worse than I recall, according to our cabbie it’s all in preparation for the July Olympics. Seriously Boris? isn’t this a bit ‘day late $ dollar short?’

Plant Hall at RHS London Plant and Design show

We made it through the traffic and arrived at the packed show which is located on two sites close together. It works quite well, the hubbub of the jostling plant sales hall versus the slightly more silent and serious hum of the design rooms. Starting in the plant hall I was immediately floored by the rows and rows of gorgeous spring plants that are available and had to put my purse firmly at the bottom of my bag.

Ashwood Nursery Garden Hybrid - Variety names no longer feature on labels, which will be confusing for buyers

The show could feasibly be renamed, the Galanthus and Hellebore show for indeed these varieties were being shown off to their full capacity with block after block of delicate bloom tempting one and all. Avon Bulbs, Ashwood. Foxgrove Plants and Broadleigh Gardensto name a few of the participating nurseries. It was fun to get up close and personal with one or two of the Galanthus without having to grovel about on the muddy ground. I will admit to something along the lines of galanthophile envy at the range and clump size displayed.

Galanthus 'Wendy's Gold'

The Design Hall was awash with colleges vying for new students and industry bodies selling their expertises. The SGD hosted a HUGE stand offering a showcase of MSGD’s work and offering quick, free garden design consults to all comers. It was exciting to see the photoshopped illustrations of the upcoming Chelsea Gardens and it looks to be another good year in 2012. Personal favourites were Laurent Perrier Garden by Arne Maynard. Is that a brown or purple pleached alle we are going to see I wonder? and  The Telegraph Garden by Sarah Price of Olympic Park renown.

A fine lunch followed at the Blanche eatery, not a stones throw along Horseferry Road from the Channel 4 building and a quick jaunt around the British Museum foyer, due to the Grayson  Perry exhibition being entirely sold out!

Timeless and elegant architecture at the British Museum

RHS Seed list 2012

The RHS process a diverse range of seeds from plants cultivated in their gardens. The list is extensive, i.e pages and pages and pages long and has all manner of things from simple Bidens to magnificent Betula (yes of the tree variety!)

A couple of years ago I bought about 20 packets completely forgot about them, on the whole and on finding them this spring grew the host that had not dried up beyond recognition. Forgetting what you have ordered is part of the fun so there were some rewarding surprises, Coreopsis grandiflora being one of the  and Water iris another, the peony has yet to produce anything but I am patient. The Rosa chinesis went in and out of the airing cupboard and fridge so many times I lost count and it probably forgot how to germinate, I have abandoned that one.

The 2012 list was published on 1st November and of course you have to be a member to be able to benefit from the stash of fabulous seed matter.

Well worth a look through.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Seed-list/pdf/Seed_Collected_for_members_2012

The Single Digg

I’m sure lots of you know all about single digging, that is as opposed to the dreaded double digging or ‘ bastard trenching’ as my RHS tutor once called it!

Today I initiated my lovely nephew and his mate in the finer arts of the single dug trench and although I am not certain they appreciated the finer points, they made stirling efforts to at least look interested and to follow instructions relatively closely.

Some of you may be wondering what the hell is ‘single digging’ ? Well the first trench is dug a ‘spit’ down and a ‘spit’ across. A spit being approximately a standard spade depth. This soil is placed in a barrow and the next trench dug throwing the soil into the first trench. At the final trench the soil from the first trench is used to backfill. Simple. Double digging simply roughs up a second spit’s depth of soil and usually adds some organic matter before replacing the topsoil.

We added plenty of gravel and some well rotted farm yard manure, minded all the sticky, slippery worms

wiggling their way through the slabs of ‘soon to be concrete’ like clay and pulled out the worst of the grass clumps, last winters phacelia went in with the grit and manure.

Progress was slow, it’s hard work, even if you’re 17 and solid muscle, this is hard graft. But the lads are grafters, they’ll be back next week for another couple of hours of digging.

This time I am setting out, we’re not wasting time on digging over what will be paths, just  the new Iris beds. 

Week 3 and we’ll be onto the vegetable beds, might even get a fine tilth seed bed ready, by the time spring frosts are past of course.

Which tool for Plant Specification

After learning about the National Plant Specification resource at college it had been assigned to the ‘someday when it can be afforded’  box – currently £156+VAT subscription then £99+VAT PA thereafter

What is the NPS?

“The updated National Plant Specification takes the guesswork out of plant selection and procurement by providing a comprehensive and accurate ‘bible’ for planting selection and ensures an effective method of producing rigorously specified plant schedules.” http://www.gohelios.co.uk/

There are other resources of course that are free-ish, The new and updated RHS plant selector which provides extra care information for a logged in member – £49 for an individual member. There is also Shoot Gardening which provides extensive plant information for professionals £30 to £130 depending on services) and amateurs (£19.99).

Of course good nurseries will also provide this information free in their own catalogues.

In my ideal world the NPS would be integrated into Vectorworks at no extra cost and updated every 6 months to reflect new RHS AGM varieties, but that is my personal wish list and not so likely to happen!