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Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Emergency measures have been announced to protect their gardens from escalating threats lack of water.
The environmental charity looks after five famous public gardens EnglandConfirmation on Saturday that investment in water capture and management projects will be prioritized in 2026 is a direct response to last year’s severe drought.
The Royal Horticultural Society is also encouraging home gardeners to take similar preparation measures this winter and spring to maximize rainwater harvesting amid increasingly unsettled weather conditions.
These include soil preparation techniques such as hollowing, chopping and mulching, as well as creating rain gardens, installing rainwater storage and carefully considering plant placement.
The move comes as global warming continues to exacerbate fluctuations in the global water cycle, leading to more frequent years with below-average rainfall and an increased risk of flooding across the UK.
Last year’s driest spring in 132 years and hottest summer on record plunged many parts of the country into drought, some of which were still recovering as late as January.
The Royal Horticultural Society is currently reviewing the water allocation strategy for its famous gardens: Wisley Gardens in Surrey, Hyde Hall Gardens in Essex, Rossmore Gardens in Devon, Harlow Carr Gardens in North Yorkshire and Bridgewater Gardens in Greater Manchester, in anticipation of future dry spells.
Projects in 2026 will include increasing water storage in tanks and lakes, installing tidal benches at retail centers to reduce water use, and investing in rain garden facilities.
The charity will also conduct research into soil health in its gardens and continue to quantify water use by individual plants and across the landscape.
In addition, it will explore using more greywater – cleaner wastewater from bathrooms, showers, sinks and washing machines.
The plans mark a broader shift in the organization’s approach to climate change, as it increasingly focuses on adapting to growing impacts rather than slowing increases in emissions in the atmosphere that are warming the planet.
Tim Upson, director of horticulture at the RHS, said: “Water is the lifeblood of any garden and is important not only for human health and wellbeing but also for the wider environment and wildlife and we, like the UK’s 34 million gardeners, must adapt to the new normal; prioritizing rainwater collection, storage and management, as well as relocating and reassessing our collections to suit future needs.”
Mr Upson said the charity’s updated water management plan “goes in depth on what the last bucket of water in every garden is used for”.
“This is the reality that we need to prepare for, and we would be foolish not to,” he said.
To understand what grows in their own gardens and provide advice to UK gardeners, the Royal Horticultural Society also records the water usage of different garden landscapes, such as trees, perennial borders, fine lawns and vegetable gardens.
The charity said it is using this knowledge to predict future water use patterns for these plants and prepare for future planting and water management as climate change accelerates.
Mr Upson added: “There is an optimal balance between increasing plants’ ability to withstand periods of drought by providing less water, but then potentially stressing plants and making them susceptible to plant health problems, not to mention reduced flowering, which has knock-on effects for wildlife and people.”