You may have noticed that our seasons are becoming confused and increasingly unpredictable. If you have a garden you will regularly observe the effects of unseasonal and extreme weather on plants and wildlife. The good news is that your garden can help to combat these changes – particularly if they are in the city as gardens now account for almost half of the UK’s urban green space.
The RHS is promoting ways in which our gardens help keep the planet green and healthy.They have sent a strong message to Britain’s gardeners that the humble urban backyard plays a vital environmental and ecological role in our present and future lives. Keen horticulturalists have always suspected this is true, but for the first time, the RHS has brought together all the published evidence in a scientific review entitled Gardening Matters: Urban Gardens. This invaluable document covers key areas major concern as cities expand and the global climate shifts including:
What is the value of gardens in urban areas? Do gardens sustain our cities?
To establish the facts, the RHS scientists undertook an examination of all the available evidence from published research around the world reveal the remarkable depth and range of benefits that gardens provide in urban areas. Here is a brief summary of four key areas in which our gardens can also make a difference to our changing climate:
* They help control urban temperatures, mitigating the effects of extreme heat and cold.
* They prevent flooding by absorbing rainwater that would otherwise overload drainage systems.
*They have effectively become some of Britain’s best nature reserves, supporting a range of wildlife including birds, mammals and invertebrates.
*They support human health by easing stress and providing physical exercise
The full report makes for very interesting reading and highlights how the RHS is determinated to help gardeners adapt to changing environments and climatic conditions both now and in the future. http://www.rhs.org.uk/science/pdf/climate-and-sustainability/urban-greening/gardening-matters-urban-greening 
Gardens are one of the most precious legacies that we can leave for future generations.Time to prepare our gardens and the young people who will manage these gardens in the future for uncertain climatic conditions. 
March 19th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
I’m using your blog post in my classroom today! We are beginning our garden and I wanted to show how we can connect everyday tasks to the topic of climate change. Thanks! 🙂
November 27th, 2014 at 10:31 am
Hi, very nice blog page, thank you !
The RHS website is quite clear that although our gardens have the potential to be very positive for coping with climate change, they may themselves contribute to it by our gardening activities and associated purchases contributing to Carbon Dioxide (and other Greenhouse Gas) Emissions.
They emphasise the importance of lawns – left alone and just cut they are good – when fertilised and “pesticided” they are terrible C sources!
I know you garden sustainably – its the importance of the majority of people doing the same that bothers me a bit. Still, much better than concreting the whole area over !!
Best wishes,
David
April 23rd, 2015 at 9:47 am
Brilliant post Debbie- If only more people realised how something as simple as gardening can have such a positive impact. You don’t have to be experienced and on a great day, looking after your garden and planting flowers etc is a wonderfully enjoyable thing to do- more of us need to get involved and @AmyLynn- its wonderful that young children are being taught this!
May 5th, 2015 at 11:46 am
Thanks for your enthusiasm David and compliments about my blog. Agree totally with your thoughts on lawns – always amazed that as soon as we get some lovely spring weather in the UK, the sound of lawnmowers seems to spoil the joy of the birdsong. Leave mine to grow wild for few weeks with the daisies making the garden feel that bit more natural – insects love it too. The English are obsessed with controlling everything in the garden and the final word is always with nature – and the weather of course! Keep in touch. Best Deborah
December 22nd, 2018 at 2:22 am
Thank you for this article. I am doing some cursory research this evening to prepare my own blog post about gardening in climate change. More of a “how to” article than a what it will do for the environment article, because the environment will benefit if enough people get the “how to” info.
Anyway, thank you 🙂
January 29th, 2021 at 3:38 am
I have planted 42 plants of 10 different species in my backyard, and the difference is amazing, the heat is not so strong anymore.