BETH Chatto has proved that beautiful gardens can be created in the driest of conditions.

In the Sixties, Beth transformed the overgrown site at Elmstead Market, Colchester, from a poor gravel soil and boggy wasteland into stunning gardens. With the news that Essex, along with most of England, is in drought, people are having to look at alternative ways to garden.

The gravel garden at Beth Chatto Gardens is an inspiration for all those struggling to plant in dry conditions with poor soil.

Beth has plenty of advice for people who want to create a dry garden themselves.

Beth says: “Try to find plants that have been adapted in the wild to dry conditions as they work best.

“Many have come from the Mediterranean, including plants, shrubs and bulbs.

“It takes no more time or care to grow such plants, provided they are given a good start.”

To succeed, gardeners need to prepare.

Good soil preparation is absolutely vital. Deep digging initially, two spades deep, and then the hard pan beneath broken up, before back filling with whatever moisture holding material you can find.

As a result, the roots can penetrate more easily the lower cooler depths.

Then, keep free of weeds, preferably with a mulch, and prune judiciously, usually after flowering, to preserve well-shaped plants with fresh young growth, such as helianthemums.”

Dry gardens only work where a plot is continually affected by drought.

Beth says: “It is not possible to convert a garden suddenly into an area of plants that are drought-tolerant.

“Only those gardeners for whom drought has been a yearly event, rather than an occasional hazard, have possibly discovered the wide range of plants adapted by nature to growing in dry situations.”

It is possible to spot drought resistant plants by sight.

She adds: “Drought tolerant plants have green leaves protected, as with a shirt, by hairy surfaces, felted, woolly, or waxy, so they appear grey, almost white as the drought intensifies.

“They may be small and scented with aromatic oils which protect the leaf, such as thymes, lavender and artemisias, or be tough and leathery such as cistus.

“Others have fat leaves, such as sedums and sempervivum, which store water in their thick leaves. Plants with large fresh-green leaves, such as hosta and delphiniums, need cool damp conditions in comparison.”

Visit www.bethchatto.co.uk for details.