Our increasingly dry summers are great for beach-goers, but they cause havoc across the country for gardeners. Creating a dry garden with plants for dry climates is a low maintenance option. As a garden / planting designer who also builds landscaping projects, and living in close proximity to Beth Chatto who developed the first shingle dry garden ideas on their old carpark site, I've been very mindful to include them where possible in Hortus Pink projects. This is for two reasons, firstly they utilise locally sourced pea shingle which is widely available throughout Essex and Suffolk; but also secondly they are really beautiful and can offer a diverse opportunity for a low maintenance garden ideas.
There are a couple of key aspects to consider when creating your low maintenance dry garden:
Do: enrich and dig the ground before planting. I tend to prefer spent mushroom compost which contains a mixture of horse and chicken manure. This is professional grade organic matter so it's sterile, well rotted and ready for planting. This is ideally dug into the area via a double digging method (2 spade depths) before planting and mixing a lot of organic matter in. I tend to aim for 1 bulk bag of mushroom compost per 10m2 area. This fibrous matter really helps aerate, enrich and improve moisture retention - a 'feeding the soil' approach.
Do: plant up using your favourite plants. I prefer hardy mediterranean-style perennials, bulbs and ferns. I tend to add plants that cover all the seasons for all year round interest. You could spend the time and research dry garden planting that are UK native and don't require feeding or watering - this look is a little less floriferous but an equal attraction for pollinators. Then I water in and tread over the soil afterwards to help compact it flat.
Don't: add any weed suppressant membrane of any kind. It will look lovely in the short term, but over time weeds will grow on top of it anyway. Your planting will also develop root growth that takes hold into the membrane, making it really hard in future to replace anything. By the time you've cut planting holes throughout it, there will be no need for it anyway.
Do: add locally sourced pea shingle as a top mulch. It looks quite lovely when you mix two different grades together. I like to include 10-20mm and 20-40mm in swathes. They then look really pretty as the different grades show subtle pattern. Add the shingle in 3+ inches deep to help keep weeds off and retain moisture. You can walk directly on top of this shingle so it's an easy access material.
Do: provide a water through feed to plants once planted. Depending on what you've planted a specific water through feed once a year in May time will really boost the garden - a 'feeding the plant' approach. This will be like a shot in the arm to help the plant flourish for the rest of the year.
Do: consider if your planting even needs organic matter dug in or feeding. There are many suitable plants for the dry garden that can be planted into sand that hate enrichment. This is the ultimate dry garden border, one that might take a bit longer to flourish but one that may last better in the long term as they are totally self sufficient.
Don't: over water. Ideally this garden is left to it's own devices, but you can manage it as you prefer.
Don't: cut the spent growth off too soon in Autumn. This can look quite pretty over winter and can provide essential nesting for insects. A February cut back and weed will set the garden up well for the new season ahead.
Do: add garden art, a bird bath, decorative rocks and wood to the area. This creates a wonderful mixture of textures and surfaces to enjoy any time of year.
Do: ensure you control what grows where. keep on top of weeds, removing them before they go to seed. Also edit back perennial seedlings that have taken over. For example, verbena is a rogue if you let it take over so edit out what you don't need. Consider what colours need pairing back or adding again. You may also decide to add new varieties for fresh interest after a few years. A lot of what you add can be grown from seed, so it's a great place to have a little fun with.
Contact Zoe to get your free initial design consultation conversation on 07860283761.
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