My Climate Change Garden

After heavy monsoon style rain in southern england yesterday, today delivered a beautiful sunny day with one of those bright blue skies that make the garden look even greener.Heavy rain followed by sunny days is great news for my beautiful red tropical hibiscus that is literally “glowing” in my garden. There are two types of hibiscus , the hardy ones can be left outside all year but the non hardy tropical ones are my favourites. It does mean I have to bring them into the house every autumn as soon as the first frosts appear but it is certainly worth the effort for this fabulous display.

The  tropical variety also has glossy leaves and bigger flowers available in the most seductive array of colours plus they adapt well to growing in clay pots.Monsoon showers are good for giving them a good soaking – just like in the tropics where they thrive – but let them dry out as they do not like to be water-logged.

Tropical hibiscus bring instant exotica to any UK garden. This American site offers useful tips on how to grow them succesfully in the northern hemisphere.http://www.trop-hibiscus.com/gindr.html