Garden Tour: A Flood-resilient Garden With Beautiful Planting
A genius design has turned a potential flood risk plot into a gorgeous garden where water can be welcomed and enjoyed
If you got fed up of the rain this spring, you’re not alone, with millions of homes put at risk of flooding and many of us finding our gardens turned into bogs. For homeowners, flooding can be both expensive and traumatic, so it’s good to know that anyone who has even a modest plot can play a role in reducing that risk by including water-resilient features. Essentially, the more gardens there are that deal with water, the better it is for everybody.
Luckily, such practicality doesn’t mean sacrificing a beautiful space, as this Chelsea Flower Show 2024 design by Naomi Slade and Dr Ed Barsley demonstrates. With ways to capture, store, slow and release water subtly woven into the lush design, this small garden shows it’s possible to have an attractive, enjoyable space that also safely channels water into the ground, helping to curb the amount that runs into our drains and, crucially, allowing homeowners who fear the rain and its potential consequences to welcome and enjoy water.
Luckily, such practicality doesn’t mean sacrificing a beautiful space, as this Chelsea Flower Show 2024 design by Naomi Slade and Dr Ed Barsley demonstrates. With ways to capture, store, slow and release water subtly woven into the lush design, this small garden shows it’s possible to have an attractive, enjoyable space that also safely channels water into the ground, helping to curb the amount that runs into our drains and, crucially, allowing homeowners who fear the rain and its potential consequences to welcome and enjoy water.
Key to the water management are these roomy galvanised tanks, which capture and store rain for later use, and also act as ornamental ponds. Some can be used as dipping ponds, while one large one has smart technology fitted to release water automatically – important before rain hits.
“When it rains, most water butts are already full,” Naomi points out, “and with these sudden, sharp downpours we’ve been having, it’s important to reduce runoff. So the idea is that you have a water butt that you can release ahead of the downpour, so the water soaks into the ground and makes it more absorbent when the rain comes.” The butt will also be free to capture another load of water.
“When it rains, most water butts are already full,” Naomi points out, “and with these sudden, sharp downpours we’ve been having, it’s important to reduce runoff. So the idea is that you have a water butt that you can release ahead of the downpour, so the water soaks into the ground and makes it more absorbent when the rain comes.” The butt will also be free to capture another load of water.
Here, the released water flows into a swale, which channels rainwater into a pond, where it can slowly seep away.
So if you have an area that tends to get boggy in wet weather, consider embracing that and fill it with plants that like wet feet. “If you have a pond and a bog garden, the water has somewhere to go, so it stops runoff,” Naomi says. “And it means the water soaks into the ground and is there for the roots of the plants, which makes them more drought-resilient as well.”
What about water-loving plants in the hot, dry periods we’ve been having? “With a lot of pond marginals, such as marsh marigolds and sedges, as long as the ground doesn’t dry out entirely, they don’t really mind; they don’t need to be very wet all the time,” Naomi says. “Marsh marigolds, for example, flower early in the year and go dormant in drier months.”
The planting is dense, partly to slow the flow of water and partly to create habitats. “I’ve included some wild species, because they’re genetically diverse and I wanted to reference how natural landscapes cope,” she says.
Plants include ones that enjoy boggy ground, such as Ranunculus, ragged robin, water mint and irises, and varieties that can handle a range of conditions, such as ferns, foxgloves, Verbascum and Geums.
Tempted to revamp your garden? Easily find and hire garden designers on Houzz.
So if you have an area that tends to get boggy in wet weather, consider embracing that and fill it with plants that like wet feet. “If you have a pond and a bog garden, the water has somewhere to go, so it stops runoff,” Naomi says. “And it means the water soaks into the ground and is there for the roots of the plants, which makes them more drought-resilient as well.”
What about water-loving plants in the hot, dry periods we’ve been having? “With a lot of pond marginals, such as marsh marigolds and sedges, as long as the ground doesn’t dry out entirely, they don’t really mind; they don’t need to be very wet all the time,” Naomi says. “Marsh marigolds, for example, flower early in the year and go dormant in drier months.”
The planting is dense, partly to slow the flow of water and partly to create habitats. “I’ve included some wild species, because they’re genetically diverse and I wanted to reference how natural landscapes cope,” she says.
Plants include ones that enjoy boggy ground, such as Ranunculus, ragged robin, water mint and irises, and varieties that can handle a range of conditions, such as ferns, foxgloves, Verbascum and Geums.
Tempted to revamp your garden? Easily find and hire garden designers on Houzz.
Flood resilience doesn’t mean turning your whole plot over to bog garden, though. In this design, Naomi has created a mound at the far end, topped by a quince tree (Cydonia oblonga).
“If you mound up the soil, you create areas of better drainage, so you can plant things on it that don’t like getting wet feet, such as fruit trees, roses and peonies,” she says. “You can’t grow roses in a bog, so you create an area that isn’t boggy. That means people can still grow their favourites.” A raised bed can have a similar effect of lifting plants into drier soil.
Big, woody plants have huge benefits. “If you plant something on a big root stock, it will have a nice big root system that will grow down into the ground and reach the water in drought,” Naomi says. “And when the ground gets soggy, it will anchor it, making it less likely to fall over.
“Giving trees and shrubs a really sturdy basis to grow well is good for the environment,” she continues. “They are longer-lived, so they catch more carbon; they support wildlife; they provide structure for the garden and shade for cooling, and they slow the rate at which rain falls to the ground.”
“If you mound up the soil, you create areas of better drainage, so you can plant things on it that don’t like getting wet feet, such as fruit trees, roses and peonies,” she says. “You can’t grow roses in a bog, so you create an area that isn’t boggy. That means people can still grow their favourites.” A raised bed can have a similar effect of lifting plants into drier soil.
Big, woody plants have huge benefits. “If you plant something on a big root stock, it will have a nice big root system that will grow down into the ground and reach the water in drought,” Naomi says. “And when the ground gets soggy, it will anchor it, making it less likely to fall over.
“Giving trees and shrubs a really sturdy basis to grow well is good for the environment,” she continues. “They are longer-lived, so they catch more carbon; they support wildlife; they provide structure for the garden and shade for cooling, and they slow the rate at which rain falls to the ground.”
A decked area outside the house is sheltered by a pergola. “The garden should be usable before, during and after heavy rain,” Naomi says. “With the covered pergola, you can sit on the deck and watch the drops come down.”
Disconnected downpipes help water to cascade along the gutter and flow down rain chains into the tanks. If the water begins to rise too much, flood defences can be slotted into the building across the front of the patio doors.
There are lots of recycled materials in the garden, including the pergola, which is made from old school gates; a bridge and the deck made from reclaimed fallen trees, and stepping stones formed of salvaged chunks of York stone. “We’ve used very few virgin materials,” Naomi says.
Disconnected downpipes help water to cascade along the gutter and flow down rain chains into the tanks. If the water begins to rise too much, flood defences can be slotted into the building across the front of the patio doors.
There are lots of recycled materials in the garden, including the pergola, which is made from old school gates; a bridge and the deck made from reclaimed fallen trees, and stepping stones formed of salvaged chunks of York stone. “We’ve used very few virgin materials,” Naomi says.
In making sure the garden is usable, Naomi has also created access to every area, with a nice circular journey from the deck and back again.
“There’s a bridge across the top of the garden, which means you can do ordinary things, such as access the compost bin or go to the seat under the tree without going through the soggy area,” she says. “Stepping stones then go round the bottom of the garden, which means you can do a circuit.
“The bottom of the garden is where you become immersed in the watery green landscape, with a beautiful pond and little stream when it rains,” she adds. “You can enjoy that sense of immersion.”
The patio has gaps in between the stones, so when the water level rises, it can rise up into the patio. “There’s a quality of dynamism about it – and it allowed me to plant between the stones,” Naomi says.
“There’s a bridge across the top of the garden, which means you can do ordinary things, such as access the compost bin or go to the seat under the tree without going through the soggy area,” she says. “Stepping stones then go round the bottom of the garden, which means you can do a circuit.
“The bottom of the garden is where you become immersed in the watery green landscape, with a beautiful pond and little stream when it rains,” she adds. “You can enjoy that sense of immersion.”
The patio has gaps in between the stones, so when the water level rises, it can rise up into the patio. “There’s a quality of dynamism about it – and it allowed me to plant between the stones,” Naomi says.
Various seating places along the route give different views. “It’s not just a case of looking at the garden from the house or deck,” Naomi says. “You can sit on the little patio and watch the dragonflies, or you can sit under the tree and look towards the house or down into the swale.”
The log pile behind the tree forms both a ‘bug hotel’ and a ramp up the mound. “It’s designed to allow beetle larvae, worms, creatures who can’t survive in water to escape,” Naomi says. “The more elements in an environment that can survive a flood situation, the quicker that environment will recover. All those microorganisms will be able to populate the area and rehabilitate it.”
To bring everything in the garden together, the designers turned to Belderbos Landscapes. “They’ve been involved since the autumn, because it was their job to make it work on the day,” Naomi says. “They’re amazing, professional and supportive – and a bit like the drum and bass on a music track, making sure it all hangs together.”
The log pile behind the tree forms both a ‘bug hotel’ and a ramp up the mound. “It’s designed to allow beetle larvae, worms, creatures who can’t survive in water to escape,” Naomi says. “The more elements in an environment that can survive a flood situation, the quicker that environment will recover. All those microorganisms will be able to populate the area and rehabilitate it.”
To bring everything in the garden together, the designers turned to Belderbos Landscapes. “They’ve been involved since the autumn, because it was their job to make it work on the day,” Naomi says. “They’re amazing, professional and supportive – and a bit like the drum and bass on a music track, making sure it all hangs together.”
Gardens increasingly provide a front line of defence against this growing threat to homes. “We can work on flooding collectively,” Naomi says. “New-builds have huge water collection sumps, but pre-1980s properties need to be made resilient, habitable and safe by slowing water, using SuDS principles, and using good horticulture.
“One flood-resistant garden is a great thing,” she says, “but if you can get an entire street with flood-resistant gardens, think of the volume of water you could capture.”
Tell us…
What do you think of Naomi and Ed’s design? Are you tempted to include any flood-resilient features in your garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“One flood-resistant garden is a great thing,” she says, “but if you can get an entire street with flood-resistant gardens, think of the volume of water you could capture.”
Tell us…
What do you think of Naomi and Ed’s design? Are you tempted to include any flood-resilient features in your garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Show RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
Garden Flood Re: The Flood Resilient Garden
Designers Award-winning consultant garden expert Naomi Slade, and expert in environmental design Dr Ed Barsley
Constructor Belderbos Landscapes, in association with Water Artisans
Sponsor Flood Re
Using a mixture of SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) principles and good horticulture, Naomi and Ed have created a small urban garden that reflects the dynamism of a natural landscape.
“Gardens are often perceived as having a fixed state – a lawn, a terrace and some flowerbeds,” Naomi says, “but this one is designed to roll with the punches. So when there’s a lot of water, it fills up, and it’s designed to accommodate and store that, but is still usable and looks nice. Then, as it drains down and dries up, it’s also still usable and looks nice, and the garden shouldn’t really blink.”