Gardening in a changing climate

In my last blog I made comment about climate change and the possibility of whether or not we would have to consider gardening in a changing climate. I guess the whole climate change issue is one that raises all sorts of questions - and all sorts of responses. Is it happening or is it just 'one of those weather cycles'?, is it man-made?, is it going to cause real problems? - and, who cares anyway I'll be dead before it happens!
Personally, I'm sitting firmly on the fence. I've got no idea if it's for real and if it's going to affect me and my gardening. And, I doubt if there's anyone else out there that can give me all the answers and reassure me.
The UK floods of 2007 gave everyone reason to doubt global warming as we're supposed to be getting hot, dry summers. But maybe the weather patterns are just shot to pieces and global warming will just produce irregular weather patterns. Anyway, according to NASA recent sunspot activity suggests we're due a new ice age in a few years' time! Ho hum!!
If you do think that gardening is going to be affected by changing climate and you want to know more or simply want to get something off your chest, the Royal Horticultural Society has set up a gardening in a changing climate microsite. To find out more go to www.rhs.org.uk/climate
Anyhoo, whatever the weather - enjoy your gardening!

Plants in flower on January 1

Are we experiencing global warming? Will we have to garden in a changing climate?? One thing that could provide evidence for this is seeing plants that flower out of season. Plants are very sensitive to changes in weather conditions and patterns.

I went out into my garden on New Year's Day to see what exactly was in flower to see if there were any anomalies. The list was:
Calluna vulgaris (2 cultivars)
Clematis cirrhosa var. balearica
Cyclamen coum
Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’
Erysimum ‘Cotswold Gem’
Galanthus nivalis
Gerbera ‘Everlast Pink’
Gerbera ‘Everlast White'
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida'
Helleborus foetidus Wester Flisk Group
Helleborus x hybridus ‘Harvington White’
Helleborus niger
Liriope muscari
Primula vulgaris
Sarcococca confusa
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn'

A very welcome smattering of colour during the dark, dingy days of winter. But also a few plants that thought it was spring!

Radio questions

It has been a busy radio week for me - Gardening Plus (the new name for Down to Earth, which is now three hours long) on BBC Essex and the Thursday phone-in and Dougan Does Gardening on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
Along with the usual "How do I kill this or that bug, disease or weed?" (rose blackspot is still a major concern for gardeners, even at this time of year) and "Why is this plant dying?", I've had some questions that may give some credence to changing climate.
Listeners have asked about looking after outdoor mimosas, lemons, olives, palms and even prickly pears - and this is the UK! The latter question came from a listener in Cambridge who had even managed to eat a few of her own prickly pears from a plant she had brought back from the Canary Islands earlier in the year. This was followed by a listener in London, who originally comes from South Africa, pointing out how they're basically a weed in that country because they propagate themselves so easily; chance would be a fine thing!
And, of course, there are always those willing to admit to the biggest of faux pas!; planting a monkey puzzle tree right outside the house in the front garden, planting a willow right next to a drain and someone even admitted to planting and growing pampas grass - the shame of it!!!

All systems go at RHS Online

Speaking of the day job (see last blog) it's all systems go on RHS Online - the RHS website. We've been working on some new areas of the site and updating others.

There's Passion for Plants, which ties in with the BBC TV programme A Passion for Plants shown on Friday evenings; Garden Explorers, which is a new membership category for families; Campaign for School Gardening, which is aimed at schools, teachers and pupils to encourage them to go gardening; a new Britain in Bloom section; plus the tickets pages for all RHS flower shows in 2008, including Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace.

We're also looking at new sections for launch towards the end of December - Gardening in a Changing Climate and Wildlife Gardening/The garden as an ecosystem - all topical and relevant stuff for gardeners.

Our Grow your own VEG campaign this year has been very successful and we're looking at a refresh for 2008.

One important function of RHS Online is saving other RHS departments time and money. So I've been creating downloadable versions of past exam papers for the Qualifications Department. This will save them the aggro of having to print them out and post them in the snail mail.

And not forgetting the fabulous new Glasshouse (that's posh for greenhouse!) at RHS Garden Wisley.

All very exciting, interesting and enjoyable stuff - but now there's just no time to think!

Long time no blog

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted a blog since the end of August - but then again not! I've been soooo busy with other things that I just haven't had the time.

I managed to get some holiday in during September and went off to Greece for some sun and relaxation; I also went on my annual fishing trip to the Norfolk Broads with friends from University.

I've also had the proofs back from my pruning book, so have had to spend some time checking for corrections. Autumn is a busy time for me as I put together the Yearbook for the Garden Writers' Guild and produce the catalogue for Greenacres Horticultural Supplies. And, the autumn is a busy time for talks to gardening clubs. All in all, things are pretty hectic - but I have managed to get out into the garden too.

The last couple of weekends I've been having an autumn tidy up, lifting, storing, cooking and freezing the last of the summer veg and generally getting the garden and greenhouse ready for autumn. I do love this time of year. Towards the end ofsummer the garden can start to look a bit tired with plants going past their best, but a quick tidy up puts everything to rights.

All I need now is 40-hour days, six-day weekends - or the chance to retire from the day job!

It's all new

One of the perks of being a gardening journo is that you get new plants and products to trial. This year has been no exception and in spring I received a massive box of bare-root perennials from Darwin Plants in Holland. Here’s how I got on with them.

There were two new cultivars in the collection: ‘Love and Pride’ and A. chinensis ‘Diamonds and Pearls. I’m not a great fan of astilbes, so when I received these and three other different ones to grow I wasn’t totally enthralled. They were planted in a shady border, which isn’t that wet. Anyway, I have to say that despite my misgivings they’ve performed really well and provided some great summer colour. I’m particularly impressed with ‘Diamonds and Pearls’. Maybe I’ll have to reassess my feelings on this group of plants!
Geranium ‘Sweet Heidy’ has been flowering for months, produces good ground cover and has great flower colour – distinctive white centres surrounded by pink, fusing into blue with an overlay of dark veins.

Heuchera ‘Mocha’ has really large leaves that are black-brown in colour. It has done well and provided great foliage colour for months.

There were also three new perennial phlox. P. paniculata ‘Grenadine Dream’ has produced lots of good quality purple-red flower spikes. It has good mildew resistance too. P. paniculata ‘Sherbert Cocktail’ hasn’t grown as well and so hasn’t provided such a display of colour, but I quite like the flower colour combination. It is the first with yellow in its petals, combined with white or pink centres. It too shows good mildew resistance. P. paniculata ‘Peppermint Twist’ has also produced less growth than ‘Grenadine Dream’ and hasn’t started flowering yet.

Other plants in the collection that aren’t new for 2007 included:

Rudbeckia ‘Pot of Gold’ has produced good-sized mats of ground cover foliage and has been in flower for several weeks – and looks like it will continue for many weeks more.

Sedum ‘Lajos’ - I love sedums and variegated foliage – need I say more!

Three veronicas - ‘Fairytale’, and ‘Babydoll’ and ‘Purpleicious’. They’ve all grown well and produced a superb show of colour. I particularly like ‘Fairytale’, and ‘Babydoll’ has produced a good mat of low-growing ground cover foliage.

I've received other plants from other suppliers and I'll let you know how I've got on with these later in the year.

To prune or not to prune

That certainly is a question. And a question I get asked a lot; most starter gardeners are petrified of attacking plants with secateurs thinking they'll kill them. Most plants can survive and some even enjoy massed butchery, so there isn't anything to be too worried about. Whether they'll flower and fruit afterwards is another matter!

I give a talk to gardening clubs on pruning, and it's always surprising to discover that what can be an artful skill, is usually viewed as a totally scary subject.

So when I was approached by The Crowood Press to write a book on pruning I jumped at the chance to put my views and pruning approach across. When they gave me several months to research and write it I was even more delighted (I was given two months to do the same for my book on bulbs). But having such a long timescale meant I didn't start for ages - or made a quick venture into putting thoughts together, and then closed down the computer. The deadline date was hurtling towards me like a runaway rootstock before I knuckled down to the task. Anyway, I'm pleased to announce that I finally got my brain into gear and I've at last finished writing it. The publishers have it and the next bit is down to them. All I've got to do now is wait for the proofs to come back for checking. Hopefully, there won't be too many corrections and I can look forward to the book being printed early next year. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, if lopping, cutting, snipping or even butchering leaves you cold, send me an e-mail and I'll put you out of your misery/stop your fits of cold sweats asap.