The Dry Garden

Being located in one of the driest areas of the UK with an average rainfall of just 600mm, Hyde Hall champions water efficient gardening. Our dry garden - supported by Essex and Suffolk Water - was completed in 2001 and aims to demonstrate the fantastic range and style of plants you can grow to cope with drought and exposure to high light levels.

The garden was constructed on a south facing, sloping site of 1600 square metres using gabbro boulders (an igneous rock related to basalt), and sub soil mounded over rubble. The topsoil was mixed with a high volume of sand and grit to provide the plants with a free draining environment. After planting, the area was mulched with stone to conserve moisture, to reflect light and also for aesthetic reasons to create an area reminiscent of a rocky Mediterranean outcrop.

The plants in the dry garden have all been selected for their tolerance to the prevailing conditions and all have specific adaptations such as the woolly silver leaves of Santolina chamaecyparissus, adapted to reflect light and conserve moisture, and the thick epidermal layers of Agave americana, designed to prevent water loss.

The dry garden receives no artificial irrigation and is managed organically. In spring it undulates with luminous golden Euphorbia, and becomes a haze of purples in the summer with the ubiquitous Verbena bonariensis attracting hosts of butterflies. Autumn heralds the fiery reds of Zauschneria californica and delicate pink of Nerine bowdenii, while the structures of seed heads and delicate grasses sprinkled with frost make a beautiful sight in the winter.

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