GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Drier conditions & water restrictions

26-03-2006, 10:25 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

writes
You might try planting native plants from your area. They're already
used to living on rainfall alone.

The problem is that areas of the UK are having a lot less rainfall than
they're used to. So quite possibly even the native plants are used to
having more water than they're getting at the moment.

It doesn't apply to the whole UK - where I am (Yorkshire) recent years
have been wetter, and I'm seeing the land and the flora change - new
areas of water, and more damp-loving plants like lesser celandine.

We are always trying to
recreate English gardens here, surely you have lots of wonderful
natives to plant.

English gardens are not usually created using native plants ;-)

But you make an excellent point that plants may need less water than we
think. There is a tendency to water if you have it available, which can
discourage roots from heading down towards the deeper damp soil. Keeping
watering to a minimum, for example only t the initial planting/sowing,
helps develop a plant less dependent on high levels of water.
--
Kay