Given both rain and time, gardens mostly recover from drought – but some first aid and reorganising the garden can help to speed up recovery and make the garden more drought-proof in future.
Lawns soon green up with rain and there are currently at least six weeks before grass pauses growth for winter. Mow to keep the sward easily walkable, but avoid harsh haircuts, because the grass needs leaves to grow new roots and spread to fill in gaps.
Rake suitable grass seed into thin lawns and bare patches, then tread to get good seed-to-soil contact.
The newly softened ground is ideal for spiking or hollow-tining, whereby a thumb-sized plug of turf is removed, to remedy any compaction and allow more air to the grass roots.
A top-dressing of organic matter and sand can be brushed over the turf to fill the holes and feed the grass. Sieved garden compost can also be used. After such a hot, dry summer, natural processes will have released nutrients7 to be available to the resurgent grass, so fertiliser probably won’t be needed.
Some deep-rooted weeds might have thrived. Winkling a proportion out, while leaving some to help wildlife, will help the grass to recover by reducing competition.
Drought-related tree and shrub losses can occur, including new plants, which are hard to keep adequately watered in drought, as well as older plants, either because they were not well-suited to the site or because their roots were diseased and therefore vulnerable to drought.
Before replacing losses, check that the dead plant’s roots are free of rot or fungal material under the bark at the base of the stem. If disease is found, ideally plant in a slightly different spot.
If it is essential to replant in the same spot, remove all roots you can find and wait 12 months before planting to allow pathogens to decrease.
Check the requirements of proposed new plants to make sure they suit the site. Alternatively, see whether they grow well in nearby gardens – if none can be seen, caution is wise.
Some trees and shrubs have looked peaky in the drought – mulch these with 5-7cm of organic matter such as compost or bark to at least 1m diameter, but ideally out as far as their branches spread. Done every year, this will gradually increase the soil water-holding capacity.
You can rejuvenate your garden (Photo: Tim Sandall)
Some shrubs – camellia, for example – set their flower buds in late summer and dry roots can lead to bud drop. Plant these where there is some shade and mulch every year.
Similarly, mulch flower beds and borders to boost their drought resistance, but also consider changing planting where plants wilted unless they were watered.
Move the vulnerable plants to slightly more shaded areas and replace them with plants known to shrug off drought without watering. Echinops, eryngium, hylotelephium (Sedum), lavender, nepeta and verbena provide good options.
Being mostly water, vegetables and soft fruit benefit from improving soil moisture-holding properties by adding organic matter, manure or compost either dug in or mulched.
Concentrate on those areas that showed signs of water stress this year. Not only will the organic matter store water – up to the equivalent of 5cm of rain – but it will feed the plants. Plants that have adequate nutrients are better able to grow roots to search out water.
To increase soil organic matter to counter drought, aim to add manure or mulch at least every other year. Cover crops of rye or vetches sown now on bare areas to incorporate in spring will also help.
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