This guest post has been written by Peter Kearney who created and runs the excellent City Food Growers web-sit from Brisbane in Australia.

Peter uses his expert horticultural knowledge and practical experience to explain how vegetable gardens can adapt to changing temperatures and unpredictable weather.

Being in tune with your local climate is one of most important success factors for gardening. Climate change has complicated the picture for vegetable gardeners, but there is a silver lining. With the right knowledge at the right time, food gardeners can actually grow more because of climate change.

Changing climate has in general brought greater extremes of temperatures with warmer and longer summers and often more extreme cold in winter, but on average, higher temperatures throughout the year. Food gardeners are finding that choosing vegetable crops with the methods they have always used is giving them results they don’t expect.

For many gardeners, figuring out when its right to plant vegetables is based on one or more of the following:

1. What they have always done – This is reliable so long as it has worked in the past, but climate change alters the picture.

2. Planting calendars – Most planting calendars use very broad zones for recommendations which do not account for local temperature variances. These zones are based on climate definitions which may be up to 100 years old. So with temperatures changing, the zones are becoming more inaccurate each year.

3. Advice from a nursery – Seedlings are often grown in temperature controlled environments and may come from thousands of kms away, so it very possible they are not in season for your local climate.

4. Emotion – Whenever you do things in the garden without some objective thought, the results will invariably tell you to go back to drawing board.

Vegetables are very sensitive to temperatures at planting and over their growing period. Frost is a killer for many vegetables. If you plant too early or too late in the season you may be hit with frost. If it is hotter earlier in the season, there are many crops you could get underway which you would not normally grow at that time and because of extended warm periods you could be staging your crops for much greater production. There may be crops that you thought would not grow at all, but are actually now very suitable for your climate.

In a changing climate, the biggest opportunities for a healthier and more productive garden include:

1. Extending your cropping time due to more heat and by becoming more aware of protecting your plants from frost and temperature extreme’s.

2. Planting new crops that were not previously suited to your climate.

3. Reducing the potential for crop loss by getting more accurate with your planting times.

Our web site planting calendar has been specifically designed to deal with these three opportunities . We have detailed local climate information and climate profiles for all the food plants in our web site. So you don’t need to know how to work through climate data, our Gardener subscriber planting calendar does it for you at the click of a mouse. It incorporates:

1. Local temperatures – Averages over the last 7-20 years (Australia, NZ and USA) . Its fascinating to see how much average temperatures have changed in Australia over the last 100 years compared to the last 10. Our web site deals with this climate change by you simply choosing your closest weather station to create your climate profile and you can easily fine tune this for your location in relation to the weather station and for micro-climates you may have created in your garden.

2. Frost data – Our site incorporates frost data for all the weather stations (Australia only at this point) so you can see your frost profile and easily manipulate the profile if you can protect your plants from frost, thereby increasing the number of plants you can select and your cropping time

3. Detailed climate profiles on more than 130 vegetables and herbs – These are all matched to your climate profile in the site calendar so when you search by day, by month or by crop and you get a list of ideal or OK crops to work with. This not only gives you the best times to plant the crops you know, but opens up the opportunity find crops you have not worked with before.

4. Climate warnings – Based on averages, the site tell you when there will be frost days, too much heat or cold during the growing period of the crops you have selected, so you can have advance warning to protect your plants.

In these times of climate change, the objective knowledge on planting and climate in our Gardener subscriber site and its ease of use, gives you the power to make timely decisions on managing your vegetable garden. It will help you achieve greater success in your food garden.

Visit:  http://cityfoodgrowers.com.au/about.php

This excellent site currently provides gardeners living in Australia, New Zealand and America the opportunity to adapt to climate change by simply choosing their closest weather station to create a local climate profile. This can then be fine tuned for your location in relation to the weather station and for micro-climates you may have created in your garden.

Peter is planning to launch this useful system in the UK during 2011. If you would like to be included in the trial please e-mail at debbie@globalgardening.org.

Will is famous the world over for his expert knowledge of exotic plants – and his colourful exotic shirts! His garden is one of my favourite places to explore every summer. Check out this fascinating blog which will surely tempt you to visit his inspirational garden . http://www.exoticgarden.com/public-opening-times.php

So What To Grow?

Many nurseries have sprung up in recent years selling borderline to tender exotics retailing plants that may only take 5 to 6 degrees of frost, so this winter has killed most of those outright unless protected or brought into frost free conditions. Of course with a very deep pocket plants can be replaced every spring and I know a few exoticists will still do this! For most of us though, caution is probably the best route to take by growing plants that look tropical, i.e. with big leaves, or as I do, interspersing with tender plants during the summer month.

Never-the-less,there is nothing wrong with growing borderline plants if you are prepared to protect them during the winter months. I recently took the wraps of my *Musa basjoo* and found that despite the effort put into their protection; most of their stems had been cut to the ground. Thankfully though this a tough banana which usually reshoots from the ground hence its common name the root hardy banana is appropriate. From an established rootstock they will grow back up to 6-10ft in one season if well fed.

If you have shrubs which look, well – dead! Don’t give up just yet. If you scratch the bark with your thumb nail and it is brown keep going down until you find green showing through underneath, then cut all the dead foliage and stems foliage off above that point. If it is something with a bark covered stem such as Cordyline’s, wait until at least the end of May or early June before discarding them as new shoots will usually appear around the base of the stem and often several feet up, where you can cut/saw off all the dead growth above that point. Unless a small plant they will reshoot like mad,because of their extensive root system.

Phormiums have taken a beating over the last two winters, with some of mine having about 80% of their fronds flattened by snow and withered by frost.These can be cut down to within 6-12ins of the ground and fed, where they should slowly regenerate during the summer, though old specimens are very slow to regenerate indeed. Like me though this might be too slow, hence digging them out completely and planting with new ones or something completely different might be the only answer and a great excuse to try something else!

On the softer perennial front though, plants such as members of the Ginger family have been growing happily outside for the past 15 years in my garden with little or no protection. If about a foot of straw is placed over the top in the autumn with some plastic sheeting pegged down over the top, they will survivie all but the most severest of winters.

Tree ferns, the most commonly grown being *Dicksonia Antarctica*, have certainly taken a beating this winter, especially in exposed positions with desiccating winds. I have heard many reports of the central crosiers (the growing point) having turned to goo, which means they are most likely dead!I stuffed mine with a thick layer of straw which seems to have worked well with a minimum of -11C, though this is the first winter that all of the fronds have turned brown, which have since been removed.

Many palm trees have failed this winter and I have lost several. The toughest though seems to be the good old windmill palm *Trachycarpus fortunei* which copes with temperatures down to about -17C for short periods; hence I will be planting more of these in my garden.

http://www.athelasplants.co.uk/search/trachycarpus-fortunei

I’m sure you will have many questions about plant losses not covered here, so let me know and I will try and give you a pertinent answer. The main things is don’t give up and think positive – and let’s hope it’s a really good summer….

info@exoticgarden.com

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Encyclopedia-Exotic-Plants-Temperate-Climates/dp/0881927856/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301262056&sr=8-2

Traditional gardens with herbaceous borders come to a crescendo in June and early July and then gently wither and fade into their autumn colours. Many years ago I also used the more traditional border planting that goes with this style of gardening. I found it disappointing when August and September arrived to find vast blank areas in the garden with little to spark the imagination, thus the search was on to find plants that would be coming to a peak at these times.

With much experimentation and head scratching, I began researching plants that would look fresh and full of vigour with months of growth ahead of them. Tropical and sub-tropical plants were incorporated with the more traditional perennial plants in the borders at the Exotic Garden, thus creating a more jungle-like world of huge shiny leaves, bold outrageouscolours and ferny textures. It is possible to change the look of a traditional perennial border by skilfully placing just a few tropical plants in the right place for impact. This garden style relies on using traditional tropical plants as well as tropical looking temperate zone plants to create the feel of a more exotic/tropical setting. Many fast growing exotic annuals can also be used to give instant height and colour to the garden.

Using tropicals in the garden is nothing new. Plant collectors have grown and collected them for hundreds of years. Annuals such as pelargoniums,impatiens and begonias are actually tropical in nature. During the Victorian period, tropicals were all the rage, especially in the larger London parks and gardens. Lavish outdoor displays were created during the summer months which gained enormous proportions by high summer. These more tender plants were then moved into “glass houses” to be over-wintered for use in the next season’s garden. This style of gardening was novel and new at the time.

In recent years this style has seen a revival, because it tends to draw attention to the garden in a way no other planting can. If it’s attention you want, just incorporate a few tropical plants into a flower border and wait for the second looks, stares, ooh’s and aha’s from visitors to your garden. Many of these plants are truly jaw-dropping in their proportions and overall appearance. Your guests will be transported to much hotter climes where the planting is lush and the senses over awed.

It is relatively easy to create a unique display of tropical foliage as long as you have some form of protection from the prevailing winds and a tranquil corner of the garden to grow some of these gems. In most cases, we enjoy summers that are relatively sunny, with heat and humidity along with the occasional (or should I say frequent) heavy rain storm, which plants love.These conditions fuel the growth of tropicals into high gear so that even ifyou start out with relatively small specimens, they grow unbelievably fast and turn into large, imposing plants in a matter of weeks if the environment is favourable for good growth and they are well fed – most important!

A border planted with tropicals gets better as the season progresses and can continue through September into October. Many popular houseplants such as the rubber plant, dieffenbachia, Chlorophytum,Spathiphyllum, and croton, when rescued from dark corners of your home, make excellent additions to the exotic border once acclimatised to the stronger light conditions. You can grow these tropical exotics directly in the ground or in containers placed together in imposing groups. Many exotics like cannas, bananas and ferns can be planted outpermanently if correctly sited. Most of these plants are now relatively easy to obtain from garden centres and DIY stores as well as specialist nurseries.

Create an instant garden by moving exotic looking house plants such as Bromeliads, Chlorophytum, Monstera, Tradescantia and Platycerium into the garden for the summer months. Tie them to the branches of trees to create a truly exotic and magical feel.

Plants in containers can be placed by entrances, patios and decks or plunged into the ground in perennial borders or amongst shrubs to brighten up dull areas. This makes it easier to move them inside for the winter. If you do not own a greenhouse, plants will often survive tucked against a house next to a south or west facing wall which will give your cherished plants extra protection on the coldest knights of the year, especially if you use some sacking or fleece to give them a little extra protection. If you do decide to try plants such as the rubber plant outside, these must be brought back in to a cool room in your house for the winter as truly tropical plants will not take frosty conditions at all.

Will explains how climate change affects Exotic Gardens in videos on the Home Page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMtc15dk9yQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myclimatechangegarden.com%2Fblog%2Fkeep-your-garden-looking-beautiful-all-summer%3Fpreview%3Dtrue%26preview_id%3D490%26preview&feature=player_embedded

The Exotic Garden is open on Sunday afternoons from 12th June 2011 to 23rd October 2011.

http://www.exoticgarden.com/opening_times.html