Gardening for Rain

In Ireland, the weather is the one topic that gets endless discussion. We are obsessed with it and in this emerald isle, we are blessed with our fair share of rain.

There is definitely an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events hitting our shores, with flash flooding becoming more and more prevalent. How will these extreme weather events affect our gardens and more importantly, how can our gardens be used to attempt to counteract the consequences of flooding?

With the trend for paving over front gardens and the ever-increasing development of land with concrete replacing permeable soil, the area for rain to slowly percolate is diminishing. Rain and ground water needs to flow somewhere and constantly diverting it with paved or hard landscaped areas, funnels the unstoppable flow into smaller and higher areas.

The great news is that more rain does not adversely affect plants as long as the ground is not waterlogged for long. However, if the water table rises as far as the plant root zone, plants begin to struggle and their roots will be deprived of oxygen, which can damage the plants long-term.

Read more in the February issue…