It's a common term here in Utah.. but I wouldn't think you'd have much use for it in the UK. A well established and mulched garden should just be fine through the worst of your dry summer 'droughts' with a hose pipe ban. Xeriscape is more about designing desert gardens with a mind for 'right plant, right place'. A garden that can exist on very little additional water once established. Some principles would be useful for dry areas of a UK garden though.
@Blue Onion I think the heat from nearby buildings has a part to play in my garden . No I don't grow cacti but Galactites, Nassella tenuissima, Phormium, Erodium ,Kniphofia, Santolina and Phlomis all do well. None of these plants are feed and no pesticides are used.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I seem to remeber Severn Trent were very keen on it at one point. We were going to have massive droughts and needed to grow stuff that thrived in dry conditions. Then the heavens opened and it rained, and rained and rained. Now we need SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) to cope with the run off to stop the flooding. Since they took 300 tonnes of wood in the form of mature trees out of next door, the neighbours get flooded with run off. They never did before.
I think we need to be forward thinking regarding the future. Both flooding and drought conditions will be more of an issue for us all. @Plantminded Here is another' Rewilding'.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
It's not so long ago 'they' were warning folk about how dry and arid parts of the UK [mostly the south of England] were going to be, and it would be dreadful etc. It really didn't happen. Now they've changed it to warning folk about flooding. Call me cynical, but it'll be something else in a year or two
I expect everyone's climate has changed to some extent - it certainly has here, but how you deal with that is by adapting the planting you have, and just keeping an eye on your conditions. It hasn't changed so dramatically here that I'll suddenly be planting Astelias and Agaves instead of stuff that can withstand wet and cold all year round.
When you have planning departments putting money before common sense - ie building on flood plains etc, there isn't much we can do other than look after what we have, and retain some common sense. Too much scaremongering goes on IMO. You only have to look at the way weather is reported nowadays.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I seem to remember in the 70's we were told we were going in to a new ice age. We didn't . Then the maldives would be underwater by 2000. They weren't. Now we are all going to be growing vineyards because of the heat. Hmmm. We have weather. If you don't like it, wait a bit and it will change.
I am pleased to see that over 400 people have taken time to read at least part of this thread. We may not know how to pronounce Xeriscaping but it has hopefully made at least some of us think ' I could do that over time'.
I have cut down most of the plants in this small garden this week, plants such as conifers and Phormiums plus evergreen rockery plants give winter interest and shape. Grasses create places to live for overwintering insects
Over the coming months there will be little maintenance. This gives me time to concentrate on the rest of the garden.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Posts
We have more than enough of the stuff [last year was the exception] so if anyone wants to buy some?....
At least we're having some nice dry frosty days just now to alleviate it for a little while.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think it's called upsquelching, or resquelching - we get lots of mud here too!
@Plantminded Here is another' Rewilding'.
Now they've changed it to warning folk about flooding.
Call me cynical, but it'll be something else in a year or two
I expect everyone's climate has changed to some extent - it certainly has here, but how you deal with that is by adapting the planting you have, and just keeping an eye on your conditions. It hasn't changed so dramatically here that I'll suddenly be planting Astelias and Agaves instead of stuff that can withstand wet and cold all year round.
When you have planning departments putting money before common sense - ie building on flood plains etc, there isn't much we can do other than look after what we have, and retain some common sense.
Too much scaremongering goes on IMO. You only have to look at the way weather is reported nowadays.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have cut down most of the plants in this small garden this week, plants such as conifers and Phormiums plus evergreen rockery plants give winter interest and shape. Grasses create places to live for overwintering insects
Over the coming months there will be little maintenance. This gives me time to concentrate on the rest of the garden.