The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced emergency plans to protect its gardens from future water shortages, investing in water-capture and management projects for 2026. The charity warns of a 'new normal' due to erratic weather patterns.
Last year was the driest spring in 132 years and the hottest summer since records began, plunging several areas of the UK into drought. In response, the RHS is urging gardeners to prepare by improving soil with hollow tining, chop and drop and mulching, creating rain gardens, and installing rainwater storage facilities.
Projects at RHS gardens in Wisley, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, Harlow Carr and Bridgewater will include increasing water storage in tanks and lakes, using ebb-and-flow benches in retail centres to reduce water use, and investing in rain garden installations. The charity will also research soil health and quantify water use, and explore using more grey-water.
Tim Upson, RHS director of horticulture, said: 'Water is the lifeblood of any garden... we, like the UK’s 34 million gardeners, are having to adapt to the new normal; prioritising collection, storage and management of rainwater as well as relocating and reassessing our collections to future-proof them.'
