My Climate Change Garden

The Met Office got the forecast right this weekend .The UK is basking in glorious sunshine which is great news for all summer flowers

This is also perfect timing for the start of the Chelsea Flower Show on Wednesday 27th May. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/chelseaflowershow/7746785/Chelsea-Flower-Show-2010-Vintage-year-despite-weather-fears.html

The arrival of Chelsea always reminds me that it is time to put my favourite plant out in the garden.

Every winter I bring a gigantic pot of agapanthas indoors to protect them from the cold and wet. This means they usually start flowering from middle to end of May, just in time to  create instant colour in the garden. Agapanthas  can stay in the ground outside all year  – if you have a sheltered garden – but obviously will flower later.

Originally from South Africa, agapanthas are semi-evergreen clump-forming perennials with mid-to-dark green strap-like arching leaves forming at the base. The most majestic spherical heads of trumpet-shaped blue to white (depending on variety and species) flowers are bourne on upright stems from May to August. http://www.myclimatechangegarden.com/blog/african-lily

They are very popular in the Mediterranean where the  dry conditions and sandy, gritty soil make them an ideal low maintenance plant .When I visited Italy rcently they were planted in massive beds creating such a fantastic impact.

Agapanthas are also appearing in many UK gardens as a result of  hotter drier conditions that we (sometimes!) experience over summer months.

They are readily available from many UK nurseries :

http://www.somethingforthegarden.co.uk/acatalog/Agapanthus.html

http://www.paramountplants.co.uk/plant/AGAP/agapanthus-africanus.html