As the effects of climate change continue to disrupt weather patterns across the UK, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced emergency measures to safeguard its renowned public gardens from future water shortages. In response to the severe droughts experienced last year, the environmental charity is investing in a range of water-saving initiatives to ensure its green spaces can withstand the “new normal” of unpredictable rainfall.
The RHS, which operates five major gardens in England, will focus its efforts in 2026 on enhancing water capture and storage capabilities across its sites. This includes increasing the capacity of water tanks and lakes, installing ebb-and-flow benches in retail areas to reduce consumption, and investing in rain garden installations. Additionally, the charity will conduct research on soil health and quantify the water usage of individual plants and entire landscapes, allowing them to make more informed decisions about future planting and resource management.
“Water is the lifeblood of any garden – important not only to human health and wellbeing but the broader environment and wildlife,” said Tim Upson, the RHS’s director of horticulture. “We, like the UK’s 34 million gardeners, are having to adapt to the new normal; prioritising the collection, storage and management of rainwater as well as relocating and reassessing our collections to future-proof them.”
The RHS’s updated water management plan will delve into the specifics of how each garden can make the most of its limited water resources, ensuring that even the last drop is used effectively. This knowledge will also be used to advise British gardeners on how they can prepare for the impact of climate change on their own green spaces.
“There’s a sweet spot between building plants’ resilience to withstand drier periods by providing less water, but then there’s the potential of stressing a plant and leaving them susceptible to plant health issues, not to mention reduced floriferous ness, which has a knock-on effect for wildlife and humans,” Upson explained.
As the global water cycle becomes increasingly volatile, with the UK experiencing both periods of drought and flooding more frequently, the RHS’s proactive approach to water management serves as a model for how gardeners and organisations can adapt to the challenges posed by the climate crisis.
