I would never have believed after the cold wet start to the year that I would have even had the opportunity to get fed up with watering!

But here I am at that same stage I get to every year, when I spend every evening watering!

It doesn’t help that our garden gets hit hard with drying winds, I gave up on hanging baskets here long ago.

But to try and help in my quest to cut down on watering I have planted a dry garden at the back of our house, the drought resistant plants incorporated into this scheme have low moisture and maintenance demands ... perfect!

If you would like to cut down on your watering duties why don’t you consider incorporating these when planning your next planting scheme, below are just a few of my favourites:

Lavandula (Lavender); Hebe; Papaver somniferum (Oriental Poppy); Ceanothus (Californian lilac); Osteospermum jucundum; Euphorbia (be careful to make sure that the one you choose is not invasive); Eryngium; Echinops; Cosmos bipinnatus; Knautia macedonica; Kniphofia (red hot poker).

There's also Nigella damanscena; Gazania; Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy); Stipa gigantea; Pennisetum rubum; Briza media; Pelargonium; Verbena bonariensis; Iris; Alliums; Agapanthus; Buddleia (Butterfly bush); Fatsia Japonica; Sedum & Verbena - to name but a few.

Once you start planting these types of plants you will be convinced that these well behaved plants are the way to go for your future plantings.

Remember it’s best to buy them small and you will be giving them a chance to acclimatise to their environment gradually as they develop, also look for silver or grey-green leafed plants, their light leaf colour reflects the harsh rays of the sun some also have a fine coating of hairs on the leaves or stems helping to trap moisture.

Don’t forget to give them and the ground a good soaking when planting.

Open Gardens

I hope you have had a chance to view some of the open gardens that have gardens open weekly all over the county. I had the pleasure of visiting Newnham Open Gardens last weekend which had some lovely gardens and there always seems to be a slice of homemade cake to be enjoyed at the end of all the viewing ... marvellous.