Best plants for spring: despite the dry start to the season, it's still possible to plant your favourite shrubs

This is a very dry spring. Nonetheless, this is the time when many of us rush to the garden centre and grab plants by the trolley load, settling them in one weekend and leaving them to their own devices until the next weekend, by which time they are on a drought-ridden, downward spiral.

They won’t get off to a flying start — or any kind of start — unless they have initial and frequent waterings, which is especially important during dry spells such as this one.

It’s easy, too, to get caught out with perennial plants in containers that have been fine left to their own devices through winter, but now need regular watering.

Japanese maples in pots are particularly susceptible because the wind is so drying, causing scorching on foliage.

There’s no need to panic and turn the hosepipe on the whole garden, however. “Any plants that are established — a tree or large shrub more than two years, a small shrub more than a year — should be fine. The resources of winter rain should keep them going until June or July, which is consoling,” reassures RHS horticultural adviser Jenny Bowden.

“If I dig a foot down, I would find moisture. Stick your finger into containers an inch, and if the compost is dry to that depth, then it needs a good water. Seeds you have sown will need to be kept constantly moist, however, and so will soil that you have treated with nematodes to control slugs.”

On lawns that are not irrigated, Bowden cautions against using the usual springtime fertiliser and moss treatments. “Growth has definitely slowed down this spring. My lawn is usually romping away by now. If you put down any treatment, you’re promoting growth, but there’s little moisture in the lawn to support that, so do nothing for now. Grass roots are resilient, and when it does rain, the lawn will green up almost overnight.”

New plants need a proper initial soaking, stresses Bowden. “It’s important that watering is thorough and goes straight to the roots, rather than dribbling it on the surface with the watering can.

And in the case of young box plants, water on the foliage makes them more susceptible to box blight. It’s a good idea to look at alternatives to box, such as Ilex crenata, Lonicera nitida and Euonymus microphyllus.

“Clematis roots go straight down, so a cut plastic water bottle pushed in by the side of the plant is helpful for directing water. With trees and shrubs, the roots spread outwards, so you need to water the whole root zone.”

What are the plants that will thrive through long periods of dry weather?

“We can’t choose plants for conditions on the last few weeks, especially if, like many Londoners, you have clay soil, which cracks up but also gets waterlogged in prolonged rain,” says Bowden. “Most drought-loving plants with silver and grey leaves don’t like the wet, so be wary of planting these if you have heavy soil that holds water. Our gardens need to have plants that will tolerate both extremes.”

Her recommendations for resilient shrubs include bottlebrush Callistemon citrinus, Hydrangea Annabelle, Fuchsia magellanica, viburnums, deciduous as well as evergreen, and Buddleja davidii cultivars.

“Instead of planting hybrid roses, consider the species roses, which are tougher,” says Bowden. “There are some real beauties, such as the early flowering yellow Canary Bird, scarlet Rosa moyesii Geranium, Rosa glauca and all the Rosa rugosas, which are especially good in poor, dry soils.”

Foxgloves, aquilegias, forget-me-nots, annual poppies, Verbena bonariensis, astrantia and other self-seeders are good news, because they will invariably find little pockets in which to make themselves at home, regardless of whether those odd corners are inhospitably dry or wet.

“Hardy geraniums have a strong rate of growth and are always on the move, whatever the conditions,” says Bowden. “In my garden, Geranium maccrorhizum is looking wonderful right now. It has oily leaves and like bergenia and bearded iris, it is rhizomatous, so has the ability to store water.”

Whatever your soil type, Bowden recommends incorporating organic matter. “Digging in well-rotted manure or garden compost always improve the soil structure, because it regulates the soil, creating air pockets that hold oxygen and moisture.”

There is one big plus, she points out, with the lack of rain these past few months: “There are fewer slugs and snails decimating our garden plants, because they don’t like dry conditions. They’re still around, in damp places, hidden under containers and in compost heaps, but for the first time ever — hooray! — they’re not on my lettuces.”