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How To Look After Your Garden In A Water Shortage

luciewellburn

10 Aug, 2022

With the current record-breaking, warmer weather and decided lack of rainfall, there is a massive water shortage and you may wonder how to look after your garden and plants to get them through this period.

I am not here to debate the whys and wherefores of how we got into this position, be it the water companies lack of investment and leaking pipes all over the place or climate change.

The problem still stands that yours and my garden are suffering from a lack of water in the ground, whilst withstanding both previously unseen temperatures and possibly not enough water available to give them a much needed drink at the end of these blistering hot days.

There are some hosepipe bans starting to come into force slightly further South than me and I am sure it won’t be long until it reaches us, but it hasn’t as yet.

There are a few things you can do, just like my post regarding going away on holiday I left my plants while I went on holiday for a week and this is what happened…

Just to point out that some of my tips may not help with these coming weeks but forward planning can help to make next year less of a worry.

Preparation

I do presume the hosepipe ban is coming but before we even get to that, we have also had this warmer weather and no rain for quite a while now which means some of my plants are already struggling.

Just to know it is coming means we can try to minimise the effects it will have on the garden.

Location…

Just like before my holiday, a few of the more desperate looking plants have been moved into ‘my end’ where it is shadier through the hottest part of the afternoon, which means they won’t dry out quite as much as sat in full sun.

They are also sat on trays, saucers, plates; anything to keep hold of a little of the water that comes out the bottom of the pot.

Where necessary, I have dug relatively new plants out of the garden and put them back into pots. Now we know pots will dry out quicker than the ground, but some of my ground is bone dry with huge cracks. That is helping no plant.

Plus there is no mentioning my front garden, which is very dry and unloved; it looks like a non-gardener lives in this house at the moment.

To help with the above, we have now mulched the majority of my beds and borders with bark. This helps to keep the moisture in and keep the soil moist.

Anything you can mulch with is better than nothing; bark, leaves, straw, compost or even grass cuttings.

Water smarter…

When you water, water the soil not the plant. You want to see the water soaking down into the soil, the roots need the water, don’t waste what water you do have on the plant itself.

Water later in the day once the sun has gone down. There is actually nothing I like more than wandering around the garden as the sun sets. It is cool and quiet, a time to reflect your thoughts or talk to your husband/partner.

Equally you could water first thing in the morning but given how warm it is in the morning at the moment, my practice and recommendation would be at night.

Collect water…

A biggie if you love gardening, water butts. I have three, two probably more usable than the third (pictured) but it is still there and is almost full of water. Water from your butts where you can.

You can buy water butts from any good garden centre or second hand, one of mine came via a Facebook sales page, however, there is nothing to say you can’t use a large plastic drum or whatever you might have at your disposal.

https://www.lucieinthewillows.com water butt

If a hose pipe ban comes to your door, you can still water your plants using watering cans and wouldn’t it be good to have a water store waiting for you to collect from before you turn to the garden tap.

A tip as practiced routinely by my lovely mother-in-law June; when running water in the home, be it warm or cold, if you have to run your tap first, collect this water within a bowl, a small bucket or jug and put aside for your garden.

You can keep a watering can or bucket outside the kitchen door to decant your collection into for use later.

Only water what needs watering, obviously tender new plants, fruit and vegetables or a new tree. An established plant, particularly a more drought favourable variety will not necessarily need watering every day.

One such plant is my Rosemary who is very drought resistant and only really needs a water once a week. If I am honest, under normal circumstances, she doesn’t normally get that but these are extreme times.

https://www.lucieinthewillows.com Rosemary

Learn to ignore the call of your grass.

If your grass looks anything like ours then you are going to have to learn to ignore just how bad it is looking. When the rain returns your grass is going to love it and we are expecting some next week I think, though how much who knows?

In the meantime, bare, browning patches of grass is not going to hurt the majority of it for this short amount of time and your lush green grass will soon be back to normal.

If our summers are going to continue to be warm and lacking in rainfall, it may be prudent to consider your garden choices for the coming years.

With that in mind, here are a few ideas for some fabulous plants for your garden that you may wish to include at some point, this list is not exhaustive, there is a whole host of options for you to play with.

  • Cordyline
  • Hebe
  • Lavender
  • Jasmine
  • Passion Flower
  • Bergenia
  • Euphorbia
  • Echinops
  • Eryngium
  • Heuchera
  • Osteospurmum
  • Verbena
  • Cosmos
  • Gazania
  • Sunflower
  • Nicotiana
  • Nigella
  • Papaver

One final note…

We do not like to dehydrate, as do our plants. If you are out watering your garden, don’t forget to add a little water somewhere for the wildlife.

I have a white basin in my end of the garden with water and a solar fountain. Within that I have a brick and some stones to enable anyone who wants a drink to be able to stand upon it and get back out easily.

I have seen a hedgehog and a mouse mooching around my end of the garden in the last month. Do you know who is in your garden?

https://www.lucieinthewillows.com pond

Yesterday I saw a little bee taking in water from our pond whilst balancing on a lily pad.

I left my plants while I went on holiday for a week and this is what happened...

luciewellburn

10 Aug, 2022

So we flew off for a week holiday to Cyprus. As it worked out we didn’t have anyone to come in and water my plants so they were left to their own devices and this is what happened.

Down my end of the garden gets lovely and shaded in the afternoons so I put all the potted plants together in the shadiest part and gave them a good old water the night before we left.

I gathered as many plant pot saucers, trays etc as I could find to make sure that they retained as much water as possible for as many days as possible. Also in the hopes that we had some rain whilst I wasn’t here, it had somewhere to collect for them.

I was keeping one eye out for the weather at home and as it turned out, I think apart from a brief shower, there was no rain at all and annoyingly, it would appear our region had a rather nice week while we weren’t here.

That’s not how you want it to go, you want to be out in the sunshine and for everyone at home to be in the cold and rain so that on your return you can be met with the oo’s and ahh’s of how tanned and golden you look!

We arrived home in the early hours of the morning so it was straight to bed but my husband woke before me and came out to hastily water and check out the damage.

So, if you like me, have to leave your plants for a week, although if it’s any longer I can’t promise you come back to the same results but you can rest easy, enjoy your holiday and know that they will be fine until you return.

The Results

Main Garden

The photos I mainly took were of the hydrangeas, who I felt were most probably at risk in a hot week, but look, apart from some crinkly flowers, albeit on a fairly new plant so to be expected. The rest of the garden had faired pretty well.

My End

My end didn’t do too badly at all. Things were a little crunchy if I’m honest, but certainly nothing that could be undone and after a couple of good waters everything is back to normal.

My front garden did not fair so well, but then that is a different story.

Make Your Garden 'Wow' With Potted Plants

luciewellburn

8 May, 2022

The ‘potted bed’ can really make your garden ‘wow’ to another level without too much hassle.

Digging out beds and planting your plants in your garden isn’t the only way to fill your garden with colour, especially in difficult areas.

When you first have a garden, it can become overwhelming; what plants to get, where to put them…

Plus how many times have you bought a plant which looks fab in its pot, for you then to plant it out and something goes dreadfully wrong and it never looks the same or it dies off completely. (This has happened to me).

Difficult Soil

Although my previous garden was much smaller than where we are now, I filled many areas with potted plants because the soil was a horrid hard clay and pretty obnoxious to dig into and grow anything.

You can get round that with pots, building them up in layers to give the impression of a full bed.

It also means you can chop and change the look of your garden as the plants come into flower and then go again, they can be interchanged to give you an all summer long stream of colour.

As time went on, I was able to work the soil and plant some bits but I still kept pots in between those that I had planted.

Purely by accident I discovered an alternative way I could garden and actually I really like the way it looks.

Advantages of growing plants in pots

  • Interchangeable
  • Make use of difficult areas in your garden
  • Easy to make/maintain
  • Gives colour and interest to difficult areas
  • Instant garden
  • Shows you how your planted bed would look

Instant Colour!

I spent yesterday relocating a set of pallet benches from a corner of the garden which left a triangular shaped area of rough ground which looked awful and at first I thought about maybe putting grass seed down.

Then I had an idea and started bringing some pots out from my end of the garden. Some of them are in flower and some are on their way.

Et voila, a ready-made, show of interest, potted/flower bed.

So I may keep this going for the summer but if you do this and like how it feels, then next step could be to dig out the area and plant them up just as they are as a permanent bed.

If that is how you want to go, then something else to bear in mind is whether you have a potted plant that might not be able to be left out over winter.

I don’t have anything in my collection here that would have to be taken in but if there was one or two then I would plant them in the ground within their pots so that come winter, they could just be lifted out to take inside to keep them out of harms way from the cold.

But I really do like the way it looks, so with a little tweaking of pots I think that’s how it will stay.

Gardening really can be this simple.

Thank Goodness For May!

luciewellburn

3 May, 2022

Thank goodness we are into May already. April, you did us wrong and we cannot forgive you the cold, the wind, the frosts and we are not sorry to see you leave. The worst part is that you didn’t even give us any rain to speak of.

I feel like I have been on pause in the garden for the whole month of April. Since my last post I haven’t been able to find something to write about, other than, “gosh isn’t it cold, can you feel that wind?” and “where’s my blanket?”

Don’t judge me, I’m old and I feel the cold…

Hopefully from here on inwards I will be more inspired to get back into writing regularly.

https://www.lucieinthewillows.com magnolia

Following on from my previous post Spring Has Sprung, What A Delight! showcasing our fabulous Magnolia tree (above), sadly, as expected, it took the brunt of some savage frosts several days later and ended up looking like this:

htttps://www.lucieinthewillows.com Magnolia

Oh how I could cry.

Even the poor old Fig tree didn’t make it through April without damage. The frost had him too!

Out In The Garden

Onto better days, the bulbs are showing their faces and shrubs coming into life in the garden, little spots of colour start to emerge wherever you look.

I also have lots of these fabulous Spanish Bluebells. The difference between English and Spanish Bluebells is that as with these, the Spanish ones have flowers are all around the stems as opposed to English ones where the flowers are only on one side which makes them hang over rather than these which are upright. Still I have quite a few of these in pots and in the front garden to help perk up any dull day.

Spanish Bluebells

We have a new Wisteria to replace the one that Darren strimmed off last summer, he had best be careful with this one!

My End of the Garden

I love being able to disappear down to my end of the garden to mess around in the greenhouse and the raised beds.

We begin this Spring with our usual flowering apple tree, plum tree and our newly planted (last summer), cherry tree, which has just finished flowering. In addition to the tree, my mum gave me a cherry bush last year but that too looks like the frost got at it, time will tell how that fairs.

Cherry Tree

In pots there are blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in a cot that was gifted to me. Another no-dig bed, I appear to be growing to like these. The cot sides mean I can easily cover it with netting to stop the birds getting at the strawberries which in turn means more for me. I can also hang extra pots from here for the little off shoots too.

Also, there are onions, shallots and garlic which have been going all over the winter. Bags of potatoes below them, I am seeing if I have better luck with these this summer. I may not be a natural potato grower…

In the beds there are carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts, artichokes and cabbages.

This is my first year of growing something other than tomatoes, runner beans and peppers and I am excited to see just how successful they can be with a relatively new gardener.

Most of these were started off in my lounge windowsill but thankfully once the days were warmer I was able to transfer them out into my greenhouse, even though it isn’t heated.

In The Greenhouse

The only place I have been able to hide from the cold wind in the garden is the greenhouse. It has really been the only place for any activity throughout the last few weeks.

There are a multitude of seedlings growing ever bigger; broccoli, brussels sprouts, artichokes, three different varieties of tomatoes, Stocks, Papavers, Antirrhinums, Rudbeckias, Coleus and I am still blown away at growing Dahlias from seed.

And Finally…

I’ll leave you this week with Mabel, whose current favourite game is catching a frisbee; it is a never ending game but keeps her busy so she stops trying to dig up half the garden and yet, she still does!

Mabel

Spring Has Sprung, What A Delight!

luciewellburn

21 Mar, 2022

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is?

Oh what glorious weather we are having! Spring has sprung finally and there is nothing better than the forgotten pleasure of the big golden ball in the sky warming your cheeks while inhaling the smell of freshly mown gardens around you.

I really do love this time of year. Winter means a little titivating and pottering about but the real work has begun and now it’s all steam ahead in the garden.

So this is how this last week has gone…

Happy Days

Seeds are sown, happy little buds start to emerge and a spring clean of the garden furniture anticipating the days of sitting out in the sunshine ahead.

I also managed to get out into the garden and take some photos this week. That hasn’t happened in a while.

My favourite, our Magnolia tree is in full bloom, I took lots of pictures because it only takes one good frost and disaster; their fabulous pinky blooms are gone.

https://www.lucieinthewillows.com magnolia

I have just discovered this week that you can apparently EAT Magnolia flowers?? It is said they are gingery to taste, but as yet I can’t quite bring myself to eat my most prized possession in the garden.

From Small Seeds…

The seedlings currently showing themselves in my overfilled greenhouse are Sweet Peas, Stocks, Papavers, Antirrhinums and Scabiosas. In addition to flowers I have brussel sprouts, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots emerging

There are yet more to surface.

Potatoes Revisited

Also, after the (not so successful) attempt to grow potatoes last autumn, I have revisited this endeavour and have sowed some first and second earlies. Ever the optimist, let’s see how we get on. My potatoes have been chitting on my lounge windowsill for a couple of weeks. Have noted the date on my calendar as first earlies take about 100 days and second earlies, two weeks later and I am bound sure to forget when they will be ready.

Onions, Shallots and Garlic

https://wwwlucieinthewillows.com onions shallots and garlic
https://www.lucieinthewillows.com garlic

My onions and garlic are looking good. Cannot wait to harvest these. You have to look out for them starting to fall before they are ready. They kind of bend and lay over I believe, so obviously not anytime soon as they are still bolt upright at the moment.

I am also happy to announce that the red Dogwood cuttings I took look fabulously happy. I don’t know that this necessarily means they have developed any roots yet but I am ecstatic that they haven’t just withered and died!

https://www.lucieinthewillows.com red dogwood
Red Dogwood Cuttings

No-Dig Bed

The phenomena of the ‘no-dig’ bed is everywhere and I have embraced it with an albeit small bed to start me off.

Country Living explains the layers to a no dig bed; layers of cardboard, organic food waste or compost, straw, manure etc. The Hugelkultur method also sees a layers of rotten logs and plant debris.

This is the method I have gone for. Kind of. It’s my own concoction but I am sure that is the beauty of it, that you use what you have and you save the soil underneath your layers with their warmth and micro organisms that live within there.

I got to finally drag out the compost from the bottom of my compost bin. How amazed was I to see actual properly composted material in there. I started my bin last year and to be honest, apart from filling it, I haven’t turned it or stirred it in.

So that went on plus a topping of shop bought compost.

A certain puppy loved the look of it too, jumped all over it having an absolute whale of a time! I think her face says all you need to know.

Just look at Mabel’s face!

Today In The Garden

So the weather is to pick up again this week, enjoy the sunshine, enjoy your garden, however big or small and let’s all delight in what Spring has to offer.