How a community garden in Bristol is becoming climate-proof

Perched on a hill in Knowle, South Bristol, Redcatch Community Garden is turning the challenges of climate change into an opportunity to explore new approaches to gardening.

The project began in April 2017, when a disused bowling green in Redcatch Park was given new life thanks to the initiative of two local residents, Kate Swain and Mike Cardwell. With limited resources but the support of a team of passionate volunteers, the site was gradually transformed into a thriving social hub open to all.

Today, Redcatch Community Garden organises a range of activities, including wellbeing gardening sessions, art therapy and educational projects. The groups that use the space, from local schoolchildren to people living with dementia, are helping to shape a garden at the forefront of climate-resilient horticulture. Their motto is: the planet is changing, are you?

Here, Head Gardener Lou Matthews offers exclusive tips to unlock the secrets of creating a climate-proof garden in your community or at home.

The climate-resilient bed at Redcatch Community Garden

The extreme heatwaves of recent summers are prompting the team at Redcatch Community Garden to rethink what they can grow.

“2026 has been a really bad year for runner beans and parsnips,” said Lou, who started at Redcatch in 2018 as a garden volunteer before taking a job in the café and, three years later, moving into her current role. “Even Mediterranean lovers, such as loofah, struggled in the heat.”

Fortunately, Lou has also been planting species that cope well with drought, helping the garden look spectacular throughout the summer.

Here are Lou’s top ten drought-tolerant plants grown at Redcatch:

1. Hylotelephium - “This pollinator
   

   Anything that moves pollen e.g. from one flower to another. Insects such as bees are important pollinators.

   -friendly succulent stores water in its thick leaves. I love it because it has purple and green varieties and, when it blooms, it often forms pom-pom shapes which are fun to look at in the garden. it provides long-lasting colour in late summer and autumn.”
2. Agapanthus - “Very common in Portugal and other Mediterranean countries, this South African perennial
   

   Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

   can become very large. When it does, divide it to create more plants. Having plants for free is great and, if you have enough, you can sell them through your community group to help support your projects. Agapanthus is hardy once established and good for pollinators.”
3. Stachys byzantina - “Lamb’s ear is a great ground cover and pollinator-friendly plant. The silver hairs on its leaves trap moisture and reflect sunlight, reducing water loss through evaporation. Divide it to create more plants.”
4. Nepeta - “Catmint has fuzzy grey-green leaves which reflect harsh sunlight, reducing water loss through evaporation. Once established, its root system helps it survive long dry periods. Another great plant for pollinators.”
5. Verbena bonariensis - “Similarly to Achillea, Verbena bonariensis is drought-tolerant once established and makes a lovely cut flower. It self-seeds easily and its small, lilac-purple flowers are a good nectar
   

   Sweet liquid mainly produced by flowers to attract pollinators. Honeybees make honey from nectar.

   source.”
6. Lavandula angustifolia - “A compact, bushy shrub that loves being in the sun. It has some hardy varieties, such as ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’, that also do well in cold winters.”
7. Oenothera - “If you go to coastal areas, you’ll often see evening primrose growing on
   

   Transferring young plants from one container to a slightly larger one, where they will have more room to grow and fresh potting compost. This encourages continuous, healthy growth.

   the beach, which proves its drought resilience. It self-seeds everywhere and, after the sun sets, its gorgeous fragrance becomes more pungent, attracting night-time pollinators. You can find it in our moon garden – an area we have developed to support night-loving wildlife such as moths and bats.”
8. Eryngium - “Sea holly becomes drought-tolerant once its deep tap root is established. Pollinators love it and it makes a striking cut flower. It also looks great when dried.”
9. Hardy geraniums - “Drought-tolerant once established, hardy geraniums have a long flowering season.”
10. Stipua tenuissima - “This deciduous
    

    Deciduous refers to plants (mainly trees and shrubs) that lose their leaves seasonally, usually during autumn. This is a natural process triggered by the season's shorter days and lower temperatures and allows plants to conserve energy during the winter months.

    grass is drought-tolerant once established, plus it’s very low-maintenance. It provides lovely colour in autumn.”

Redcatch Community Garden captures about 20,000 litres of rainwater each year.

“When the garden was born, we barely had any areas were we could keep dry in the rain,” said Lou. “However, as Redcatch grew, we started adding covered structures such as pergolas, rooftops and a polytunnel, and these buildings soon became vital points for collecting rainwater. Connect them to drainpipes and downpipes that lead straight into water butts and IBCs, and you’ll have a plentiful water supply.”

Another clever water management system developed at Redcatch can be found in the Wellbeing Rain Garden, a small border created for the 2026 RHS Badminton Flower Show in collaboration with Hawkmoth Garden Design. The garden, relocated in situ after the event, uses a Japanese water feature known as shishi odoshi to channel rainwater into a tank. Here, aquatic plants such as Iris pseudacorus and Caltha palustris thrive alongside moisture-loving and drought-tolerant species.

The Wellbeing Rain Garden created by Redcatch Community Garden and Hawkmoth Garden Design for the RHS Badminton Flower Show 2026

“To avoid spending all summer watering the garden, it’s important to think about mulching,” recommends Lou. This helps to retain moisture, as well as preventing weeds from growing and protecting the soil from heavy rain.

“At Redcatch, we have a no-dig approach, so we give the garden a good mulch

Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.

twice a year, in autumn and spring, using homemade compost

Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.

and good-quality woodchip or well-rotted bark

Bark is the outermost layer of woody plants (trees, shrubs and woody climbers). It is several cells thick and provides protection against physical damage, disease and environmental stresses. Bark comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns, and these can help gardeners when identifying plants. The fissures and crevices of bark on older plants also creates valuable habitat for many garden creatures as well as lichens and small plants.

. Adding well-rotted manure in autumn is particularly beneficial, as its nutrients

To grow well, plants need a wide range of nutrients in various amounts, depending on the individual plant and its stage of growth. The three key nutrients usually taken up from the soil are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Plants also need carbon, oxygen and hydrogen to make carbohydrates — their main energy source. Carbon and oxygen come from the air as carbon dioxide, while hydrogen is drawn from water absorbed by the roots. Other important soil nutrients include magnesium, calcium and sulphur. Most garden soils contain enough of these nutrients to support healthy plant growth.

support the soil after a long, hot summer.”

Heavy mulching also helps to reduce cracks. “Despite the drought, we hardly need to water our south-facing back border at all,” says Lou.

Most of the plants grown at Redcatch Community Garden are pollinator-friendly

Another great way to overcome a heatwave is to fill your border with as many plants as possible, “so the sun isn’t baking the soil,” explained Lou. “This works particularly well with established plants

Established plants have been in their current location for two or three years and so have well-developed root systems able to support strong growth with healthy foliage and flowers.

, as they can sustain themselves more easily. If you want to introduce anything new, do so in autumn and give it plenty of water to help the roots establish.”

Looking to the future, a completely new way of gardening could be on the horizon for Redcatch. “We all know that adding sand to soil improves drainage. That’s why we’re often encouraged to add a nice, thick layer to the surface. But what if we grew plants directly in sand?” said Lou.

Growing in sand can encourage plants to become more robust, as their roots need to push deeper in search of nutrients

To grow well, plants need a wide range of nutrients in various amounts, depending on the individual plant and its stage of growth. The three key nutrients usually taken up from the soil are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Plants also need carbon, oxygen and hydrogen to make carbohydrates — their main energy source. Carbon and oxygen come from the air as carbon dioxide, while hydrogen is drawn from water absorbed by the roots. Other important soil nutrients include magnesium, calcium and sulphur. Most garden soils contain enough of these nutrients to support healthy plant growth.

. Plus, it minimises their need for water. “It’s absolutely fascinating and something I’d like to try here at Redcatch Community Garden.”