September is traditionally the month for harvesting grapes.

2010 looks set to be an excellent year for English wine producers.The copious southern sunshine and a climate that continues to warm mean a potentially bumper harvest and a growth in the number of reds and unblended wines being produced here.

It appears that English winemakers are beginning to beat the French at their own game with our sparkling wines, whites and even reds really taking on the world

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/english-winemakers-beat-the-french-at-their-own-game-2058853.html

Growing vines is a wonderful experience - they look beautiful and create a Mediterranean feel to the most english of gardens.Local weather is probably the largest factor to consider when planting grapes but soil and orientation of the land are also important .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/vinyards.shtml

Denbies vineyard on the North Downs in Surrey believes climate change is good news for vineyards in the south of England:

‘All in all, with hotter drier summers I think that it could do nothing but benefit us in the vineyard. This is one thing that has been holding us back in the past. We’ve been held back by frosts and obviously long ripening periods because we’ve had to leave the grapes on the vines for that much longer to catch as much sunlight as possible. So if we do increase the ripening period, with more intense sunlight it can do nothing but benefit the quality and quantity of the wine we are producing.’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/vinyards_denbies.shtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/22/severe-weather-southern-england

With heavy rainfall it is a good time to think about the value of harvesting some of this precious resource:

• Rainwater harvesting in the UK has increased by approximately 300% in the last two years
• Rainharvesting can replace up to 50% of a household mains water consumption, and up to 85% on commercial installations
• Collecting rain from your roof reduces surface water by approximately 60% per plot
• Rainwater harvesting in Germany is over 100 times the current use in the UK
• The payback period can be as quick as 3 years on buildings with large roofs and a high non-potable water demand

http://www.revolutionpower.co.uk/rain_water.php

http://www.kingspanwater.com/

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/

 Prince Charles is using his new green campaign to urge everyone to take shorter showers.

Start, an initiative from the Prince’s Charities Foundation, has published 20 easy ways to go green as part of his 12-day festival of imaginative ways to promote a sustainable future.

The list of instructions includes: “Start having shorter showers.”

 http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23868476-charless-garden-party-to-teach-us-to-be-green-and-take-short-showers.do

 ANOTHER IDEA IS TO….

RE-USE GREY WATER FROM YOUR BATH OR SHOWER IN THE GARDEN

Grey water is water that has already been used in the home for washing or bathing.

It can be re-used in the garden provided the following rules are followed:

*Never re-use water that has strong detergents, chemicals or cleaning agents in it
*Water from dishwashers is usually too contaminated and will harm your plants
*Water from baths or showers with little soap is fine
*Always let grey water cool before you use it on the garden and do not use on edible crops orleaves
*You can buy diverters to direct bath or shower water from a down pipe to a water butt. It is advisable not to mix collected grey water with rain water, so consider having a separate water butt for each.
*Do not store grey water for too long as it can become rancid.
*Never fill up a pond with grey water.

The collective answer of the scientific community can be boiled down to a single word: probably.

“The climate is changing,” said Jay Lawrimore, chief of climate analysis at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. “Extreme events are occurring with greater frequency, and in many cases with greater intensity.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/science/earth/15climate.html?ref=globalwarming

Green or red - it doesn’t matter what colour - they all go to making chutneys, salsas, sauce or are eaten in delicious home grown salads.

Anyone can grow tomatoes - just follow a few simple steps  http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/vegetables/tomato.shtml

Harvesting fresh produce is a unique experience that literally brings home the importance and value of   sourcing quality produce that will keep you and the planet healthy.

This can be challenging for people living in cities but in London more initiatives are sprouting every day.Like this supermarket in Crouch End, north London which has transformed its roof into an organic vegetable garden.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10424392

The situation is more developed in the US where rooftop gardening is  big business.This amusing video about a tale of two tomatoes makes you think about the future possibilities for home grown food in cities.http://www.cityscapefarms.com/videos/

The climate data shows that the seasons have been getting longer and the winters are getting milder.

“We can even answer sceptics about climate change – no one can argue that climatic data shows it is changing,” he said.

“We need to work out what we are going to do about making sure we can grow our own food and address the question and at least begin to explore the potential of other things.

“We don’t want the scenario to turn into a tragedy where we do not know what we are able to grow.”

The centre has recorded increasingly milder winters and longer seasons. Dr Atkinson said the changing temperature should be used as an opportunity to explore new crops and spoke about someone who had successfully grown a banana outside in Cornwall.

http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Climate-change-brings-fruit-farmers-opportunites–newsinkent38035.aspx?news=local

Beat the unpredictable global weather this summer by growing your own food and baking your own bread.http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotment_foods/bread-making/index.php

Brighton is building a green reputation.

It has elected Caroline Lucas as the UK’s first ever green MP.

http://www.carolinelucas.com/cl/blog.html

It even offers green activities to tempt holiday-makers.

http://www.visitbrighton.com/site/your-brighton/green

What a shame that Brighton sea-front does not live up to its green credentials.

Compared to its  neighbour Eastbourne, just along the South Coast, the promenade in Brighton has very few attractive plants and could do with some serious greening.

Here is a shot of some of the tropical plants along Eastbourne sea-front that are thriving in dry conditions and need less watering than the traditonal bedding plants, beloved of most sea-side towns.

With water supplies likely to be challenged in the future by drier summers, UK seaside resorts and towns will seriously need to examine their annual planting schemes .

Every town in the UK could benefit from this idea:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2009/06/12/palm_tree_roundabouts_feature.shtml

Details have just been announced about the creation of an East London park which is being designed to take into account the effects of climate change. It will serve as a national demonstration site for local councils across the country struggling with the twin challenges of flooding and drought. Plus it will offer ideas and information for individual gardeners with regard to planting and water conservation.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/News/-Flagship–park-tackles-climate-change

London has enjoyed humid temperatures into the high 20c for the past month. The banana trees planted in Russell Square that I blogged about back in May are looking spectaucular - this photo reminds me more of a scene from one of Madrid’s beautiful squares rather than Bloomsbury.

We could see more of this type of planting in London if climate change continues as predicted .http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/7505950/Bananas-grow-in-National-Trust-garden-of-the-future.html

If this inspires you to grow bananas in your own garden check out this link for ideas and advice http://www.myglobalgarden.com/blog/grow-bananas-in-the-u