Cover crops conserve water, reduce the surface temperature, help the rain to infiltrate the ground, and maintain a healthy population of soil microorganisms.
Choose the right plants
When you choose new plants, consider the aspect, soil texture and pH and use a database such as RHS Find A Plant. A plant in the right place will take less looking after!
Layer your plants
Plants of different heights shade each other and draw on different levels of moisture in the soil.
Plant bare-root plants
Bare-root plants are grown in open ground, and if you plant them in winter they can establish root growth, needing less watering come the spring.
Plant trees in winter
By planting in winter, the roots can find the water they need, rather than rely on your watering.
Make the most of the rain with healthy soil
Use mulch to shade your soil
An organic mulch such as wood chip, straw, grass clippings or sheep wool will insulate the roots and keep moisture in the soil.
Think of your soil as a reservoir
To help get a better feel for the amount of water needed for your plants, think of your soil like a reservoir.
Make your own compost to keep your soil moist
Used as mulch, compost helps soil retain more moisture by shading and cooling the roots, and helping the rain get in.
Use peat-free compost
Peat is better left in the ground to store carbon and protect biodiversity. Find out how changing to peat-free compost may need a change in how you water.
Hollow tining your lawn
Hollow tining or coring is the removal of cores from the lawn, and allows the soil to more easily absorb water
Dive deeper into the facts behind the tips with our blogs
Garden sprinklers and hosepipes left running can use between 500 and 1,000 litres of water an hour. With the right planning gardeners can ditch hoses for good!
Make an olla
A terracotta olla (spanish for pot) is an ancient way of storing water in the soil for plants to absorb.
Water your plants in the morning
The morning is the best time for watering because that’s when your plants and soil are ready to take in water
Use a water butt
Rain water is great for your garden as it is softer, contains nitrates, and has less salts and chemicals than tap water. The average roof collects 85,000 litres of rain a year, enough to fill a water butt 450 times!
Connect water butts
Use a hose to siphon water from one water butt to another. As long as the butts are placed at reasonably similar levels, they will work as one tank without the need to carry water long distances.
Help your plants cope in dry weather
Add an extra water butt or two
Dry spells tend to break with a heavy downpour and they will soon fill when that happens.
Train your plants to be drought athletes
Keeping your plants really well watered all of the time just encourages them to need more water. Reduce the amount of water you use, without causing your plants to wilt, and you’ll train them to be drought athletes.
Protect plants from the heat
You can put up a sunshade over your plants, move containers into a shadier spot, push containers together so they shade each other slightly, or throw a light fabric over them.
Stop watering your lawn
Wait for the rain to water your lawn. It’s ok to let your grass go brown during dry spells. It will bounce back as soon as it rains again.
