The apple orchards have been replaced with orange groves, the turf covered over with gravel and the summer borders replanted with cacti.
The UK’s most important gardens are to be examined by the National Trust to see which plants are under threat from climate change. They will take an inventory of 80 prestigious gardens to decide which plants need to be propagated with new vigorous stock. A long – term plan is also being created which looks at moving at-risk plants to more suitable locations in the same garden, such as shadier or damper corners, or to other local sites or even further afield to protect prize specimens if required.
This is excellent news and shows how organisations like the National Trust are responding in such a practical way to climate change. Their actions will serve as an example of how to manage our own gardens.The Trust has many thousands of members and, together with the RHS, has a strong influence on horticulture policy and planning in the UK. Mike Calnan, the National Trust’s Head of Gardens and Parks, explained that predictions contained in their latest report were based on computer models generated by the Met Office Hadley Centre.
‘We looked at gardens in southern France and southern Portugal and, bearing in mind what we can grow in this country in mild locations, we came up with a list of probably things we could grow in the future,’ he said.
‘Gardeners will be able to grow Mediterranean and Chilean plans, but in the countryside the native plants might not adapt well to climate change, depending on how rapid it is.
‘All of this is unknown and there are a lot of ifs and coulds. We are not saying that this is what the future will look like, but we are asking whether it could look like this. It is a bit of an eye opener.’
I am particularly pleased to read that as well as examining the plants in these 80 gardens, the Trust is also introducing eco-measures such as rainwater harvesting, “green” heating systems for greenhouses and composting facilities.
New plants such as bananas could become a common sight in many National Trust gardens if predictions about rising temperatures prove correct.Here is an impressive mini banana plantation I photographed in Cornwall last summer at the glorious Trebah Gardenshttp://www.trebahgarden.co.uk/
Fri, Mar 26, 2010
Climate Change, Climate Change Gardening, Plants, Growing Bananas in UK