My Climate Change Garden

This is what the Met Office is predicting for late August through to September and, if today’s temperatures of 28c are anything to go by, it looks promising.

At this time of year the traditional herbaceous border looks a bit down in the dumps – flowering is over for many plants  and the endless round of watering starts to take its toll – especially in the heat.

The best solution is to create a flower bed that uses more drought loving plants that look fantastic well into the Autumn without involving too much input or water  – leaving you time to sit and enjoy the heatwave, admiring the view from a deckchair!

One of my favourite flowering plants for this type of drought gardening is Verbenea Bonariebsis which grows like weeds once established providing  veil of tall wiry stems topped with mauve cluster flowers.http://www.myclimatechangegarden.com/blog/argentinian-verbena

Another must is Echinacea with its beautiful flower heads in shades of yellow through to fiery orange and bold pinks. This plant survives in the poorest of soils and will repeat flower as long as it gets lots of fabulous sunshine and not too mush damp. Plant in clusters between grasses to create a prairie look – this also allows you to mix vibrant colours with the gauzy grasses making them really stand out. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_echinacea.shtml

Another must for late summer colour is the elegant Coreopsis pictured below.Some people still refer to these plants as montbretia. This name comes from the French botanist Monsieur de Montbret, but the correct term is definitely crocosmia from the Greek krokos, meaning saffron, and osme meaning smell, alluding to the saffron scent given off by the dried flowers when placed in water. Find out more about these fabulous plants from the experts at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3349775/How-to-grow-Coreopsis.html

Other key players for that “past it” border include the shaggy-headed monarda, the fashionable rudbeckia, achillea, crocosmia and the sumptous day lily – all available at a garden centre near you in a range of fabulous colours.

With late, hot climate change summers  now a regular event in the UK , there is no excuse not to have all things bright and beautiful in your garden through the next few months – enjoy!