Planning and planting gravel and dry bed gardens with drought tolerant bamboos and  ornamental  grasses, for dry  and arid areas.

Grasses in Gravel and Dry Bed Planting.

A dry gravel garden with broad curving path ways and using drought tolerant  grasses  Miscanthus sinensis' Morning Light' and Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hamelin' inter-planted amongst Euphorbia, Hot pokers, Poppies, Thyme, Lavender and Verbascum .

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hamelin'

Miscanthus Morning light. aka. Eulalia grass.

Stipa tenuissima. aka. Oat grass.

Deschampsia. aka. Hair grass

Deschampsia. aka. Hair grass 'Northern lights'

Corynephorus canescens.

'Gravel' or 'Dry Bed' gardening is another style of gardening that has also gained enormous popularity in the last two or three years, and ornamental grasses and bamboos not only look good in a gravel or dry bed garden but are ideally suited. Low maintenance, quick establishment, the self sufficiency of the plants, environmental and climate change considerations are all benefits that are making this style of gardening so attractive.

Most species of bamboo and ornamental grasses look fantastic planted in gravel, however similarly to a Japanese style of gardening less is more. You must leave sufficient empty space around discretely placed grasses and bamboo plants to show both grass plants and gravel to their best advantage. Remember that most bamboos do in fact prefer moist ground and although they will grow quite well in a gravel garden you must be prepared to water them, if not stick to the ornamental grasses. Recommended bamboos are Phyllostachys Bissettii  Phyllostachys Glauca Shibataea Kumasasa, Sasa Palmatum  Sasa vietchi  Fargesia Robusta

Gravel gardens are very effective in suppressing weeds, conserving moisture and showing off your grass plants to their best advantage. If your garden is a hot one, has a dry micro-climate or is on the coast where steady winds dry both plants and the soil out, a gravel mulch is ideal for conserving valuable moisture and also has the advantage that it will stay put and won't blow away like bark mulch.

Easy to grow, low maintenance, drought tolerant ornamental grasses suited to gravel and dry bed gardening and their companion plants are among natures most interesting prospects. Characteristics include adaptations of the foliage, such as a thick, waxy cuticle, numerous leaf hairs or narrow, strap-like leaves. Tap roots which can draw up deep soil moisture are another prominent distinction, as are hummock-forming growth habits. Many bulbous plants survive the dry summer period by laying dormant during this time. Once established, they require little attention.

Ornamental grasses are extremely tough and alongside their drought tolerant companions offer an amazing and diverse range of shape, colour and seed head to choose from. Recommended grass varieties for dry and gravel gardens are Miscanthus sinensis'Morning Light, Miscanthus sinensis ''Zebrinus', Molinia caerula 'Karl Foerster', Stipa gigantea and Stipa tenuissima, Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hamelin

Gravel and dry garden grasses and plants need little except for full sunlight and good drainage. Gravel grasses and plants adapt to most conditions and can be grow in a diversity of soil, as long as they are free draining, and are tolerant a wide range of soil fertility and acidity. Remember

• Match plants to your soil type.
• Fit the size of the plants to the size of your garden.
• Improve the drainage by incorporating sand and grit if it is to wet.
• Unless it is to be a focal point keep tall plants to the centre or back.

Under the gravel mulch it is important to provide another layer of weed-suppressing materials in order to avoid your new gravel garden being invaded by weeds, and particularly to preserve the moisture and low maintenance qualities. You can use weed suppressing cloth available from your local garden centre, nursery, or on-line store, layers of newspaper, or cardboard, even better a thick layer of clean straw or compost covered by newspaper and then weed suppressing cloth or membrane.

If you are using newspapers you must spread the papers, 6-8 pages or more thick over the area, leaving spaces for the plants. You can butt the paper up against the plants the space for weeds is then reduced and the plant will push out making a bigger hole for itself as it grows.

Although the prospect of a low maintenance, trouble free prairie garden is attractive the biggest job in gravel gardening you will face, if you are growing from see, is controlling weeds during the first two or three years. Grasses in particular spend the first years of their life developing their complex and evolved roots system while common ground weeds put all their energy into producing into above ground growth.  That's why we recommended you use good strong pot or nursery grown plants from the P&G as this is quicker  and less labour intensive solution.

Gravel and dry bed gardens require only pruning, weeding and a mulch of 5-8 cm (2-3in) of gravel (or even better compost or straw covered with gravel) will retain a lot of valuable soil moisture while plants are establishing. Gravel levels can be topped up as and when required. No spraying, no irrigating and little, if any, fertilizing saving gravel gardeners loads of dosh and hours of hard work.

By the third year, there is little for the gavel gardener to do but open a cold one, sit in the middle and enjoy it!