Labelling Drought Tolerant Plants
By Howard Drury
David Ward, nursery and garden director at Beth Chatto's garden and nursery has called for a plant labeling system to offer consumers an insight to how much water they will require and the effect this could have on the environment. He has teamed up with Affinity Waters #WhyNotWater campaign to demand changes in our legislation. The policy is supported by both manufacturers and the government.
David illustrates how there are plants in the Beth Chatto garden that tolerate drought, including many bulbs. He wants a list from A to E with A being those that need very little water and are able to survive drought. Situated in the south-east, the Beth Chatto garden has seen an increase in the frequency and intensity of drought in the area and the effect it is having on different plant. We need to give the public informed choices, he claims.
David points out how well plants have preformed in the gravel garden with no watering or feeding on the very free draining sandy soil of what was a grass tennis court many years ago. It was this feature that no doubt inspired the late Beth Chatto to write her books on drought tolerant plants in the 1970s, and they are still popular today.
With the increasing use of the internet, David points out on their own site for instance there are pages of information on drought tolerant plants. He rightly makes the point we should use water more wisely for such as growing of vegetables.
The aims of Affinity water #WhyNot Water are:
Mandatory labelling on all goods
Rights for tenants to request their landlords install water saving measures so they can enjoy water efficient homes
Domestic water efficiency by ensuring fixtures and fittings meet standard requirements through mandatory certification.
Every local plan in a severe water stressed area, should include a target of 110 litres per person per day.
© Howard Drury 05/02/2022
