Garden designers are increasingly using flood tolerant plants in their planting designs as the risk of flash floods increases.
In recent years, damage to homes from flooding has becoming a major concern. Whilst plans are in place to improve flood defenses and protect our homes, little thought is given to the affect of excessive rainfall and flooding on gardens.
Gardening in our changing climate means that we cannot rely on the accepted weather cycles of previous years. Whereas we could in the past identify gardens as 'boggy' or 'dry' with some ease, things are becoming less predicatable. Weather extremes of flood and drought can both occur in the same garden within a short period - and we need to adapt our planting style to cope with both!
We need to think about the changing climate when designing a planting scheme for new garden designs. Below is a list of some plants that can tolerate temporary pooling of rainwater as well as dry periods:
In recent years, damage to homes from flooding has becoming a major concern. Whilst plans are in place to improve flood defenses and protect our homes, little thought is given to the affect of excessive rainfall and flooding on gardens.
Gardening in our changing climate means that we cannot rely on the accepted weather cycles of previous years. Whereas we could in the past identify gardens as 'boggy' or 'dry' with some ease, things are becoming less predicatable. Weather extremes of flood and drought can both occur in the same garden within a short period - and we need to adapt our planting style to cope with both!
We need to think about the changing climate when designing a planting scheme for new garden designs. Below is a list of some plants that can tolerate temporary pooling of rainwater as well as dry periods:
- Betula nigra - river birch
- Liquidambar styraciflua - Sweet Gum
- Quercus rubra - Red oak
- Ilex - holly
- Salix - pussy willow
- Aster novae-angliae - Aster
- Deschampsia cespitosa - Tufted hair grass
- Eupatorium purpureum - Joe-Pye Weed
- Panicum virgatum - Switch grass
