Well-managed gardens will be fine in a drought, expert says

In an article for the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, gardening expert Graham Porter said established lawns can recover from several months without water.

Similarly, well looked-after trees and shrubs will also cope well, he continued, while herbaceous perennials, if they have been given well-prepared soil, should be able to manage just fine.

Hardy annuals and wild flowers, meanwhile, are genetically programmed to cope in any weather and should produce plenty of fresh seed that will create the next generation, he said.

“Those who have followed religiously the accepted rules of good ground preparation, good initial watering to help new plants establish quickly and subsequent mulching of established plants in springtime will all be laughing their socks off at those that did not,” he added