A dry spring means some British gardens are already starting to show the symptoms of drought. It pays to be prepared for water shortages, says Charlie HartAll this talk of the likely drought this summer has left me feeling rather smug. I garden in the driest region of Britain: in fact, I garden in the driest part of the driest region in Britain. Beth Chatto’s famous “dry” garden (planted into gravel over a former car park and never, ever, watered) is only 10 miles away. Here in the east we are tooled up and ready to deal with drought – we have to be.Last week Monty Don tweeted that a drought in Herefordshire was always welcome simply because they never have one there. The division between the prevailing climate in the west, and that in the east, effects our regional culture and traditions. It is not a coincidence that livestock fare the best where the grass grows greenest (it is well watered in the west country) and that the dry east, known in the old days as “corn country”, is favourable for arable or fruit. Continue reading…
Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Preparing the garden for drought
