Inspiration for our gardens comes from many places – garden designers or books, a TV programme, a neighbour or an idea we might see at RHS Chelsea.
Award-winning Chelsea stalwart Roger Platts, who is designing the M&G show garden at the RHS 2013 Show, Windows Through Time, is aiming to capture the design trends and themes of RHS Chelsea Flower Shows past and present, showing how British garden design has evolved while reflecting many recurring themes that have stood the test of time.
“I believe that the three major reasons driving the development in garden design are ever-changing architecture, climate change and lifestyle changes,” says Platts.
“Extremes of weather have tended to kill off some new trends in planting in recent years. It is not long since we were being encouraged to plant drought-tolerant varieties, only to find them frosted or rotted in cold, wet winters.
“It only takes a couple of years of extreme weather in close succession to remove gardeners’ confidence in certain plants.”
The weather is certainly one of my biggest incentives to garden.
Gardening in the rain just does not bring me any pleasure. Yet another very wet winter makes it hard to get my boots on, open the back door and connect again with my plants and trees. The ongoing bad weather means that I am resigned to looking through the kitchen window watching my lovely garden battered by the wind, rain and UK winter storms.
With just a tiny bit of sunshine the green blood stirs in my veins again.
Plus the urge to get stuck into some messy digging returns.
Anyone suffer from this seasonal disorder?
Writing this blog about the effects of climate change on our gardens, means I now understand how weather is THE vital key to the success of any garden.It challenges our efforts to create a green nirvana but is also a unique catalyst that encourages the expansion of innovative gardening ideas.
The weather is always changing, all the time .
Gardeners are destined to become chameleons if we want to enjoy, preserve and prepare our beautiful gardens for an uncertain future.
http://www.expressandstar.com/lifestyle/gardening/2012/12/25/back-to-the-future/
Wed, Jan 2, 2013
Climate Change, Climate Change Gardening, My Garden, Royal Horticultural Society