What to plant in the face of a changing climate is a challenge facing many gardeners. Erratic seasons can make the usual plant choices difficult if not impossible and it’s not always easy to know what replacements to use. The Dry Exotic Garden suggests one solution.
(Given review copy, not paid.)
Author Paul Spracklin turned to succulents after struggling to grow his favourite tropical-style plants in the arid summer conditions of his Essex garden. Supplying them with enough water over summer simply wasn’t time or cash efficient. Instead, he turned to xeriscaping – designing with the aim of minimising irrigation – and a mix of cacti and succulents.
Even so, he tells us it was “necessary to take the concept to extremes”. Essex may have the dry summers these plants love but the cold, wet UK winters are far from ideal.
To help them cope, he has altered what the plants are grown in, making it extremely well drained: “Most of our heat-loving desert plants are extremely hardy to cold but if they sit with their ‘feet in water’ they will rot and die.
The Dry Exotic Garden is a distillation of his decades of research into what is suitable and how to grow it.
It opens with an overview of things to consider from climate to location. There’s an explanation of plant biology and how some ‘hold their breath all day’, a discussion on hardiness ratings, frost and the different types of snow.
Getting the soil right is the most important factor and Paul no longer uses soil or organic matter as he believes it stays too wet. Instead, he uses a sharp sand and gravel mix. This produces plants that are compact and tough enough to survive the winter.
There’s consideration of how to design with this plant palette – a case of less is more – and examples of how careful matching of plant to pot can enhance both, while the chapter on UK gardens that have adopted this style of planting gives more inspiration. East Ruston Old Vicarage is one mentioned.
The rest of the book is devoted to plant profiles – split into cacti, woody lilies, other succulents and companion plants. Entries have details of scientific names, hardiness and cultivation advice.
Plants are labelled keystone, worth considering and watch list for those that show potential but are, as yet, largely untested. There is also a warning of a couple of thugs that he regrets planting.
The varied climate within the UK means there are no hard and fast rules about what will succeed but, he assures us, “there will be cacti and succulents available for you to grow outside”.
The Dry Exotic Garden by Paul Spracklin is published by The Crowood Press with an RRP of £30. You can buy it here for £24.95. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
Top image: a bed at the Minack Theatre, Cornwall.
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