Dry gardens are beautiful
With a changing climate, water restrictions and hotter summers here in the UK, it can feel as though we’re losing out on the beauty of lush, green water-intensive old ways of gardening. Dry gardens can be beautiful, welcoming and more relevant for our hotter climate. I’m going to show you how.
As an Australian, I’m used to fire, drought and flooding rains. Now designing gardens in London, I bring the expertise of dry-loving plants, managing deluges and finding beauty in the raw textures of nature.
The harsh environment across the Australian continent has meant gardeners there have had to forge beauty in tough conditions. Dry gardens and plants that survive these conditions are more relevant to us in the northern hemisphere than ever before.
To design gravel dry gardens, like the one pictured here, I draw from my experience walking bush tracks and dry riverbeds to create a meandering path on a brownfield site in Hackney to make a beautiful, private sanctuary for my client.
The soil is poor, the result of a building site, and the plants love that. The old approach would have been to dig this poor soil out and truck in loads of rich topsoil. But that’s less sustainable and less suitable for these plants.
“No lawn means no mowing and no watering.”
Gravel used instead of lawn echos the dry soil of much of Australia, and the Mediterranea. It is beautiful and ideal for growing in. It’s permeable and soaks rain away, rather than forcing it into drains and into properties. Plus, no lawn means no mowing and no watering.
The plants in this garden are sun-loving and often fragrant, while small trees provide structure and add dappled shade. We have small Australian native eucalypts in the mix which are used to growing in snow in their natural habitat, and New Zealand’s feijoas which have a dry-climate adapted leaf.
The dry garden viewed from the patio.
The features echo the Australian and NZ bush, which the client loves. The rusted COR-TEN steel features are reminiscent of rural farm features.
The seating areas provide a punctuation point in the journey and the textures invite you to remove your shoes and grown yourself to the earth - something that’s crucial to relaxation after a busy day in the corporate world.
The garden loses nothing from doing away with lawn and gains a sense of unity and beauty by embracing the new climate reality. Even without having to point out the sustainable features, its curved line, space for relaxation and planting is soothing, welcoming and pleasing.
At it’s heart, this is a listening garden. A deep and extensive brief-taking process means the client has a completely personalised approach that’s a naturalistic haven after a hectic day in the office. The principles of a dry garden can be applied to your space, in a way that is unique to you. Get in contact below to start the conversation.
A dry garden includes shade.