The all-natural trick to protect your garden from drought and flood

Telegraph

12-07-2025

I wanted to demonstrate with my plant choices that several of our herbaceous border favourites are very much at home in this low-fertile, free-draining environment. When growing plants in sand or any free-draining, inert soil, they need to be tolerant of dry conditions, but this extra drainage also has the benefit of helping plants through particularly wet periods during the winter.
Ultimately, that's what we're trying to do: find a group of plants that will not only cope with the prolonged periods of hot and dry weather, but will also show some strength and resilience during excessively wet winters, or even warm, wet summers.
One year on
A year on from planting, we have not had to water any of the plants whatsoever. More interestingly, many plants that have struggled to get through wet winters in other parts of the garden have come through unscathed when planted in the sand.
Of the many hundreds of plants that we grew in this area, almost 100 per cent have come through successfully. Although plants generally grow slower, and I've had to resist the temptation to throw some fertiliser down to move things along a little bit, they've grown in a more robust way. The thyme lawn that replaced the grass on the lower level has started to knit together, and as I write this article it is flowering beautifully, providing a food source for pollinators as well as a feast for the eyes.
Tom's top 10 plants to grow in sand
Achillea 'Moonshine'
Kniphofia 'Mango Popsicle'
Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica
Salvia 'Caradonna'
Echinacea 'Big Kahuna'
Nepeta grandiflora 'Dusk to Dawn
Agastache 'Blackadder'
Berkheya purpurea
Agastache 'Mango Tango'
Eryngium bourgatii 'Picos Blue'
Six top tips for growing in sand
If you fancy having a go at this technique yourself, I'd advise you to start off with a small area as an experiment before you commit your time and money to a larger project. If your appetite has been whetted, then here are a few of my top tips to creating your own sand garden:
Carry out any groundwork to allow plenty of time for the area to be ready to plant in the spring. Plants that have had a growing season to establish a strong root system are better placed to survive their first winter, especially more tender plants.
Ensure that the sand you use is clean and free from contamination or salt.
If you are unsure of any perennial weed, either deal with that first, or allow the sand to remain fallow until a time that you're confident that your garden is free from perennial weed before planting.
Water well for the first few weeks to establish plants to a point that they can start fending for themselves.
Avoid excessively walking over thyme lawns, as compaction and footfall will slow down growth and damage plants.