How to design a water-resistant garden

Whether you’re a new homeowner and want a stunning garden, or you simply want to redesign your existing one, creating a garden that can withstand climate change is a dream for many people.

Here in the UK, we’re experiencing much wetter summers, and even very mild and wet winters, which means we get more rain than ever before. Flooding is becoming much more apparent as a result, and you may havw noticed the last couple of years how water logged your garden is becoming.

You’ve invested time, effort, and love into your garden, but out of nowhere a sudden rain threatens to drown your hard work. This is why you need to consider creating a water-resistant garden, one that doesn’t just survive in heavy rain showers but thrives in them. This will make sure that your shrubs remains alive, no matter what Mother Nature throws their way.

 

How to create a water-resistant garden

I think the concept sounds harder than it actually is to create, but it will still take time, research, perserverance, money and work. The general steps include assessing your land, purchasing the right plants that love getting their feet wet, using mulch and having a good drainage system. I’d recommend that you buy a submersible water pump for this job.

Below are the steps you can follow to create a water-resistant garden that will thrive.

1. Assess Your Site

Before you get carried away with planting, and before you even buy your plants, the first thing you need to do is assess your existing garden.

You will need to consider the following factors:

• Drainage: Check how well your soil drains. Is it clay-heavy and prone to getting puddles of water, or does it allow water to flow away easily?
• Slope: If your garden has a slope, water runoff can be both a blessing and a curse. You will need to use it strategically.
• Low spots: Search for any depressions on the land where water tends to collect. These areas can become mini-ponds during heavy rain.

I know in our garden we have clay soil which really holds onto the moisture and doesn’t drain particularly easily. It also makes it really hard to dig space for new plants. We also have a retaining wall that allows most of the water drain to the patio below, where it can sit for days. Not ideal!

If you have similar issues to us, then it’s a good idea to fix what you can. Can you add drainage so the water has somewhere to go instead of just sitting in your garden? Can you find areas where water sits and instead encourage it to move somewhere? Can you add grit to your soil so that it drains a little better?

 

2. Choose Water-Resistant Plants

Your choice of plants will make or break a water-resistant garden. The wrong plants won’t thrive but will simply drown and die off, but the right plants will flourish and help you to create a beautiful space that you’re truly proud of.

I highly recommend you research the plants that thrive in wet conditions and avoid those that can easily die if you overwater them. Below are some useful guides to get you started:

• RHS – Plants for wet soils
• Better Homes and Gardens – Water-loving plants for damp areas in your garden
• Gardeners’ World – 10 plants for moist soil

There are many plants that are water resistant, but some excellent choices include bog plants, which include anything from irises and cattails, to marsh marigolds. Other good water-resistant plants are ferns as well as native plants or indigenous species that often have built-in resilience to local weather patterns.

 

3. Create Swales and Rain Gardens

Swales and rain gardens will be your best friend in most types of gardens. A swale is a shallow ditch that can act as a run-off for rain water. They’re most commonly found on golf courses and alongside fields/roads to keep the land dry.

In contrast, a rain garden is a dip in the ground that collects water typically from roofs or driveways and allows it to soak into the ground. Rain gardens are generally filled with water-loving plants to make them look more appealing, so this could be a great option for your garden.

When you’re designing your new garden, consider how you can implement either of these, in combination with a good resilient sump pump that can help a little more with drainage.

You can incorporate swales by digging small ditches along the border of your garden. This will help to channel any water away from sensitive areas that are prone to flooding or plants that don’t like a lot of water. You can plant grasses in these ditches to help stabilise the soil and make them look more appealing.

To create a rain garden, pick a low spot in your garden where water naturally drains to and make a depression. Fill it with water-loving plants and watch them grow!

 

4. Mulch Like a Pro

Mulch isn’t just for aesthetics; it’s your garden’s armour. This is because mulch can keep the soil damp but without drowing your plants (and this is particularly the case when you use organic mulch such as shredded bark). It also prevents erosion and stops rain from washing away your precious and nutritious top soil.

Combine mulching with a good drainage system and your garden will be able to handle the rain much more easily.

 

5. Raised Beds and Containers

Of course, you probably don’t want every plant in your garden to be those that love water. You want some creative freedom and to add the shrubs and flowers that you love as well. Raised beds could be the answer to your problems, as they provide excellent drainage, allowing water to run off into the earth below and preventing waterlogged roots.

 

6. Smart Plant Placement

My final recommendation is to strategically consider where you will position your plants. The easiest thing to do is stick to the ‘high and dry’ rule – place water-sensitive plants on higher ground that gets less waterlogged. To discover which areas of your garden are higher and lower, simply keep an eye out for where the puddles gather when it rains.

Wherever there’s no puddles or sitting water is probably slightly higher up.