My Global Garden

Met Office weathers climate criticisms

6. March 2010

The Met Office is in the news this week . Firstly they published an influencial review of more than 100 scientific studies that track the observed changes in the Earth’s climate system. The aim is to restore faith in scientific data following recent adverse publicity centred around the University of East Anglia Climate Change e-mail [...]

Londoners have their say on climate change

25. February 2010

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Londoners are growing their own food, exploring ways to harvest rainwater, thinking about what plants they grow in their garden. I notice this from the number of London hits to my blog . People living in the capital are interested in adapting to climate change in their homes and gardens. Mayor of London Boris Johnson is keen to tap into this [...]

2009 warms up to 5th hottest on record

2. December 2009

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According to the Met Office annual temperatures for 2009 confirm that the world is getting warmer. This year is likely to one of the top five warmest years globally since records began 150 years ago. The UK’s weather service projects that, unless there is an exceptionally cold spell before the end of the year, temperatures will [...]

RHS gardens in global greenhouse

11. November 2009

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The RHS have updated the climate change pages on their web-site with excellent information about how gardens are already being affected by climate change and possible future scenarios. http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Sustainable-gardening/Gardening-in-a-changing-climate/Current-Situation## Much of this information was first highlighted in the horticultural paper entitled “Gardening in a Global Greenhouse” which inspired me to set up this web-site.” This was originally [...]

Mild autumn days prolong growing season

26. October 2009

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Its been a fabulous day - beautiful sunshine and temperatures of 19c - apparently this is the result of southerly winds blowing hot air from the Mediterranean up to the UK . This is set to last till the end of the week - Thursday may even reach 21c in London and the South East. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1223128/With-dazzling-sunshine-temperatures-soaring-70F-autumn-sees-arrival-UKs-official-Indian-Summer.html#ixzz0V4LIMbMY It [...]

Hardiness zones must adapt to climate change

25. October 2009

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Hardiness zones must adapt to climate change

Following on from my last blog , I think it is time to re-visit the issue of hardiness zones. What defines the “hardiness” of a plant? If you define hardiness as “a plant’s ability to survive in adverse conditions” then the lowest temperature of an area - traditionally used as a bench-mark in the UK - is not the only factor [...]

Bannana Banter again

24. October 2009

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If you have been following the story of the banana plant growing outside the Co-Op in Eastbourne then I am afraid its not good news. Despite the mild late Autumn weather and wonderful sunny days on the South Coast, the bananas never made it to any shade of yellow as you can see from the [...]

Climate change cycles

22. October 2009

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On Radio 4 today, Melvyn Bragg explored the geological history of our country going back over 400 million years when the UK was located south of the equator near to where Australia is today and Scotland was a separate entity situated near to the equator.http://www.thelamornasociety.org.uk/Pages/Geology.htm Some 300 million years ago, the UK was covered with a tropical rainforest [...]

Dahlias flower on and on

19. October 2009

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The nights may be getting colder and the days shorter - its dark at 18.30 now - but there are still some wonderful dahlias braving the changing seasons . I spotted these beauties bathing in the Autumn light in London a few days ago. Sunlight is vital to dahlia growth and flower production. They need a [...]

Blooming Roses

17. October 2009

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Whilst I was in London, I took a stroll round the streets of Hampstead to find out which plants are doing well in the lovely late Autumn weather. There are some stunning houses and gardens in this wealthy area of North London. I was swept away by the beauty of the roses that are still flowering [...]