Gardens could be shifting towards more Mediterranean planting, experts said, as the country swelters in a heatwave that is the sign of things to come.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival this week is featuring more plants that thrive in conditions more traditionally found in southern Europe, and measures to conserve water in the face of hotter and drier English summers as the climate changes.
The show, which runs from July 1-6, opens as temperatures are expected to soar above 30C as the latest heatwave peaks.
Faith Carthy, RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival shows project manager, said: “As ever there’s a huge variety of planting styles on show at Hampton this year but underpinning it all is a move towards a more Mediterranean inspired planting palette that thrives under a sunny sky and in dry conditions.
“This includes the spectacular Sea holly Big Blue as well as gardener favourites salvia, agapanthus and kniphofia that are almost certainly at an all-time best this year.
“In terms of colour palette, blues and purples and silvery foliage reign supreme, providing a cooling, calming effect with fiery pops for contrast.”
Garden displays at the show include A Woodland Edge, which aims to inspire interest in the edges of woodland as one of nature’s richest environments.
Designer Nicolas Navarro has combined resilient Mediterranean plants such as hyssop and nepetas with natives such as campanula rotundifolia which he said is thriving under current conditions.
“I’m using trays to capture water run-off from those plants still in pots and once everything is in the ground will add plenty of homemade mulch to help retain moisture,” he added.
Laura Strand and Sam Stark-Kemp have designed the Teucer Wilson: Green the Gap Garden which explores how nature can thrive in overlooked spaces, such as gaps between buildings, neglected corners and verges.
The Norfolk-based designers, who live in one of the driest regions of the country, they said they had chosen plants which can handle hot dry conditions and require minimal watering once established, including Mediterranean and drought-tolerant species.
Other gardens also feature drought-tolerant species, including Illusion 2050, which imagines how gardens might look like in 25 years time.
The RHS also has some advice for gardeners struggling to keep their gardens looking in good condition in the current conditions, with successive hot spells following the driest spring for more than a century in England.
Janet Manning, RHS water reduction officer, pointed to the use of mulch by gardeners at the show, saying: “Many of the displays at Hampton will be subject to a good layer of mulch to help retain water in the soil, cool roots and keep plants healthy and happy.
“Soil is the biggest and best reservoir gardeners have at their disposal and so helping water to channel through it by keeping it aerated is fundamental during dry periods.
“It’s never too late to apply a chunky layering of home made compost or even let trimmed plant material rest on top of beds and borders to help with this.
“Ensuring the right plant is in the right place will also help in making the rainwater in water butts last longer during a dry spell.”
