Sally Nex talks to Cleve West, designer of the Saga Insurance garden, on gardening in dry conditions.

Water wise

In the torrential downpours of the first few days of Chelsea this year it's perhaps been easy to forget that the showground was in an area in the grip of its worst drought in 30 years. Several of the show gardens this year featured water-wise features, but one in particular took the issue to heart. With drought-tolerant planting and an innovative water-catching sculpture, Cleve West's garden set out to prove you can have a beautiful garden without wasting water.

"Gardens don’t use as much water as you’d think. Gardeners do get a rough deal when it comes to water saving. But it's silly to waste water. It's not that difficult to collect, and what we're trying to do is collect it in a much more aesthetically pleasing way."

Cleve gave careful consideration to the plants' demands for water. But this was no arid yellow-tinged landscape spiked with yuccas and phormiums. Instead, Cleve used herbs, 34 varieties of them, in shades of soft mauve. Clouds of silver foliage from plants such as Salvia argentea and Phlomis fruticosa provided the backdrop while beautiful airy fronds of Stipa gigantea waved gently above, the whole thing punctuated by little bursts of bright red tulips.

"The herbs I used are silver-leaved, small-leaved, prostrate forms," says Cleve. "They're really good for reducing transpiration, so the plants aren't going to need as much water as some of the big-leaved, fleshy plants."

Watering at home

Three giant sculpted concrete open vessels were Cleve's elegant answer to the traditional water butt. They may not translate easily into an ordinary family garden, but Cleve believes creative answers to harvesting water are essential. "I've sunk my water butt into the ground at home - it makes it a bit difficult because you need a pump to get it out," he says, "but I think a lot of new-build homes could do with underground water systems built in."

"I’ve sunk my water butt into the ground at home - it makes it a bit difficult because you need a pump to get it out, but I think a lot of new-build homes could do with underground water systems built in."

British weather being what it is, plants chosen for their ability to withstand drought also have to cope with cold and damp, especially in winter. Cleve accepts that's asking a lot of any plant, and he says no-water gardening isn't for everyone.

"You need to make sure you're gardening on a very light soil," he says. "It's very difficult to make clayey, wet soil free draining. You're fighting your natural conditions. You've got to plant the right plant in the right place."