Protect Your Home This Flood Action Week: Five Hardy Plants to Safeguard Your Garden

Strategic Insights -

As Flood Action Week kicks off, homeowners are urged to prepare their gardens for the risks of flooding, especially after last winter's named storms. The Environment Agency warns that communities should not become complacent about flood risks and should start preparing their homes for wet weather. Certain plants can help an ordinary garden recover better and more quickly from heavy rainfall, reducing the risk of flooding and mitigating damage to property.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Environment Agency's Flood Action Week encourages homeowners to prepare their gardens for flood risks, especially in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water.
  • Five hardy plants have been identified to help improve flood resilience in gardens: River Birch, Dogwood, Mace Sedge, Yellow Flag Iris, and Red Bistort.
  • These plants work best in combination with other flood protection measures, such as checking flood risk, signing up for flood warnings, and preparing a flood plan.
  • Floods Minister Emma Hardy urges homeowners to take simple steps to protect their homes and gardens from flooding, including choosing the right plants and preparing a flood plan.
  • Around 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water, yet 45% of the public have not looked up their flood risk.
  • The government has announced plans to build new flood defences in England's poorest communities, aiming to protect 24,000 homes and businesses in the first year of power.

Statistics:

  • 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water (Source: Government).
  • 45% of the public have not looked up their flood risk (Source: Polling data).
  • The UK is experiencing more frequent and intense extreme weather due to climate change (Source: BBC).
  • 24,000 homes and businesses in England have been protected from floods in the government's first year of power (Source: Government).
  • The Met Office has warned of a wetter than average autumn in the UK (Source: Met Office).

Sources:

  • Environment Agency (2022) - 'Protect your home this Flood Action Week: five hardy plants to safeguard your garden' retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/protect-your-home-this-flood-action-week-five-hardy-plants-to-safeguard-your-garden
  • Government (2022) - retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/protect-your-home-this-flood-action-week-five-hardy-plants-to-safeguard-your-garden
  • BBC (2022) - retrieved from BBC website on climate change
  • Met Office (2022) - retrieved from Met Office website on autumn weather forecast