Top tips from Chelsea

Chelsea Flower Show Credit: ITV Anglia

If you've been struggling in your garden with the effects of the drought followed by the deluge of rain, you're not alone. Our region's most talented gardeners and designers have also found the weather conditions difficult. We asked them for some of their top tips for making your garden grow. They don't always agree, but there should be advice to suit everybody's taste!

  • Choose European continental plants that cope with drought

  • Choose native plants such as ferns that are used to this country's changeable climate

  • Grow your own plants from seed so they are acclimatised to your garden's conditions

  • Use compost to encourage a good root system

  • Use plants, such as geranium 'Johnson's Blue' that can cope with extreme conditions

Advice from: Nicholas Dexter, Designer Climate Calm Garden; Vicky Harris, Designer, "Naturally Dry"; Thomas Hoblyn, Designer Arthritis Research UK Garden and Patricia Fox, Designer Rooftop Workplace of Tomorrow.