Confused

[NeverendingRabbitHole]

Two years ago I was sure we were getting drier and hotter - the summer was intense. I started slowly building a collection of drought resistant plants.

Now that it has rained almost continually everything is waterlogged and many have rotted and died.
I've just bought grit to mix in with soil to prevent this waterlogging happening next year - but what if we have another scorching hot dry Summer - will the faster drainage kill everything off? If we can't water will my winter drainage just make the dry spells worse?

I just don't know what to plant anymore

I live in Essex, a few miles away from Beth Chatto's gardens. We're in what used to be one of the driest areas of the country but the last 3 winters have been almost continuous rain.
I've used a lot of Beth Chatto's plants and ideas for draught resistant planting (loads of info online) and so far the plants have survived.

I’m in Yorkshire, so have none of these problems. It’s just been getting wetter.

I've been gardening for a long time and it's always been a bit of a lottery. This winter has been exceptionally wet for me (south east) - so while things may be getting warmer and wetter, this winter we've had twice as much rain as average over the past 20 years or so. So it would be pretty unusual if we got quite as wet as this again for a while.

My view is that most plants don't last forever - there is always going to be some change going on and that's part of the fun (and a lesson in humility). But lots of stuff does survive, and improving the soil with organic matter is always a good thing.

I'm in Scotland, in the rain shadow of some hills and am experimenting with a garden planted in a style with some similarities to Beth Chatto ( drifts of perennials, no separate borders and paths) but I don't do gravel. My experiment is with wood chips and other absorbent mulches ( theory being they hold so much water they smooth out the extremes of wetting and drying) lots of things don't mind the constant damp but I've given up on Kniphofias. I have lots of spring bulbs like camassia and fritillaries as they don't mind damp followed by dry as they go dormant in the summer anyway. Alliums seem OK too.
I've found American Prairie plants like Rudbeckia and Eupatorium cope better than Mediterranean plants ( they seem tougher and able to cope with temperature variations and wet or late springs), Exception being Euphorbias they don't seem to mind.
You just have to plant a range and see what survives and then add more of the survivors by division or cuttings.
I haven't had to deal with a very bad drought yet but my thick mulches definitely hold more moisture than my traditional beds, I can't imagine them needing much water ( not that we ever have hose pipe bans or water meters).

I know what you mean OP, it turns out that climate change means extremes rather than heat and drought only! It may be worth a look at plants suitable for rain gardens: they can cope with weather extremes better than most.

I think adding organic matter would be more beneficial than grit, larger substrate pieces which will allow extra water to drain through but retain enough water for the plants to access it when needed, composted wood chip would be great for example.

Thanks everyone. I feel a little less disheartened.

Two tips to look up Beth Chatto which I shall do. Thanks @MasterShardlake and@Wbeezer - also thanks for all the plant names, especially the prairie types. I like the Eupatoriums a lot so they are going on my list of things to look out for.

Yorkshire can't get any wetter can it@MereDintofPandiculation ?

Good tip to see what survives and propagate those @olderbutwiser . Nothing seems to kills off my 12 year old pots of Agapanthus so maybe I need to find more plants that are similar. Any ideas?

Rain garden - I have no idea what that is @Turkeyhen - are there any evergreen rain garden plants that aren't too attention seeking?

I have already used all my garden compost and dug that in and I'm busily filling it up again so hopefully ready to mulch by late Autumn.
I shall keep digging this in and go easy with the grit then @myvolvohasavulva

So much to try!

Yorkshire can't get any wetter can it@MereDintofPandiculation ? It can! It could become like Lancashire,or Cumbria. There’s a good reason for putting the Pennines there