Wet weather gardening

Wednesday 22 January 2025

Climate and wildlife

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With both ecological and climate crises unfolding before us, our climate and wildlife blog will explore aspects of this as well as the difference that organisations and individuals can achieve.

Raindrops by Noah Young

Jack ponders the benefits and practical steps needed to make your garden work harder in wet weather...

You may have read my blog last September about ways to make your garden better adapted to climate change but, as it's been a bit damp for a while now, I thought I'd take a closer look at how you might make your garden best suited to wet weather!

With all the rain (and lack of sun) we've had lately, it's a good time to think about how you can adapt your gardens and green spaces to make the most of the rain and to reduce potential damage from flooding. One way to do this would be to have a designated area for directing water as part of a rain garden. These consist of a shallow dip in the ground that allows water to accumulate, reducing the surface run off and storing excess water during heavy rain. This creates a fantastic habitat for wildlife as well as being an ideal space for specific flood-tolerant plant species, such as shrubby cornus (dogwood), sedges and ferns. Unlike a pond these depressions can work with the natural weather, allowing them to dry out and flood depending on the conditions; get your planting right here and the plants will thrive.

Log pile amongst green vegetation of a damp, boggy garden area — Log pile and boggy garden by Becca Bratt

Rain gardens are a great example of how we can all make adjustments to adapt to climate change by working with nature and not forcing a habitat to work against natural restraints. This approach is being undertaken on much larger scales by us and other conservation organisations but the same principle works in gardens and small green spaces too.

Any area of excess water is a valuable habitat source as a well as a vital source of water for wildlife. If you know you have a particularly wet garden, it can be a great idea to link all the water features together. Allowing water to flow from an overflow pipe or a water butt to feed your rain garden or to filter over from a pond that overflows would create an efficient system to make good use of excess water without wasting it. Rain gardens and ponds are a way to ensure your garden and green spaces are resilient in the face of heavy rain and can store water during droughts, helping to keep your garden birds and hedgehogs alive.

There are a few things to take into consideration including a recommendation that you don’t have a rain garden on a steep slope or too close to your house (<5 m) as the water soaking into the ground may affect the foundations. Testing your soil type is another great way to see how well the soil retains water and can inform you of what might be the best species to grow.