The extreme heat this summer is having a devastating effect on gardens here in the UK. My Front garden is South facing so as you can imagine it has been getting extremely hot there. It is predominantly planted with irises; the pictures show the Myrtle there is thoroughly enjoying it.
Fortunately, much of the Blue Border is shaded some of the time by the neighbour’s large Copper Beach tree.
New to the Oriental garden this year are three Houttuynia, one is the ‘Chameleon’ variety which has shades of pink and yellow on its leaves. Some are native to the UK they can be found growing from the Himalayas to Japan.
The Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’ behind the Banana Bench has been flowering quite well this year, so far escaping the mildew which often affects it, probably one of the benefits of the hot weather
Campanula lactiflora ‘Prichard’s Variety’, Delphinium requienii, Eryngium ‘Big Blue’, Verbena Bonariensis and Foeniculum vulgar ‘Purpureum’ are fortunately all proven drought tolerant plants, a direction I have been moving more towards over the last few years. I have found that ones that I have grown from seed here seem to establish much better even more so if they are a species variety.
The roses appear to be unaffected by the weather although they may have flowered for a longer period if they had some rain.
There are two Fuchsias in pots under the shade of trees, conditions they are well suited for. They are only watered once a week.
The dahlias and cannas are in large pots and these require water almost every day in these extreme temperatures. I add a liquid seaweed tomato feed to their water twice a week. This Canna below is very impressive.
The wildlife must be struggling with these temperatures, the RSPB has recommended tha we stop feeding seeds due to a desease spreading among the seed eaters. Fat balls and meal worms are considered safe. This juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker has discovered he can reach the fat balls through the squirrel guards. Please play the video.
I have seen lots of butterflies around the garden unfortunately I have not managed to get ant photos other than this insect that had settled on my watering can I think it is a Hummingbird hawk-moth. It looks as if it has been in the wars, it did manage to fly away later.
We are not use to these temperatures here, although we may have to get use to it which is why I have been making some changes. I installed extra waterbutts during the winter; I now have six in total. These have been empty now for a week.
With at least another week forecast without any rain in this part of the UK, things can only become much worse. I know of garden nurseries that have stopped ordering plants, which will have a knock-on effect throughout the industry.
Are you making alterations in response to climate change?
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Beautiful as always, Brian. Sorry that climate change is presenting a huge challenge. I guess we all have some adapting to do, as this seems to be the new normal, alas. I MUST warn you about Houttuynia. It is by far the WORST thing I’ve ever planted. I urge you to remove every single rootlet out of the ground as soon as possible. It will take over the entire garden, and I am not exaggerating. I innocently planted a single ‘Chameleon’ around 2000 and by the time I realized the danger, it was too late. I dug up the lot, the stoloniferous roots go down at least 12″, sieved the soil to remove roots and still it returned. Over more than two decades, I have fought this monster and it still wins, the patch has grown to 20′ x 30′ into the lawn, meadow and will not stop. If you must have this plant, put it in an iron container!
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Thank you for the warning, Eliza. It would be interesting to see if it acted differently in our climate; however, it may be wise for me to put them in pots, as you suggest.
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They look innocent for the first few years while all the action is going on as they set down deep roots, then they leapt forward, proceeding to conquer the garden. I don’t recommend risking it! Caveat emptor!
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I have dug them up Eliza and put them in some pots. It was amazing the amount of roots that they have produced in just this year. Thank you for your advice.
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I am so relieved that you did that! If I can save any gardener my heartache I am happy to!
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Interesting to see which plants are more resilient Bryan. I too have been considering this question, and certainly I am already looking to what is not worth growing, after all that space they vacate with offer opportunities for other things to grow.
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The problem, as I see it, Noelle, is this: while some plants are drought-tolerant, will they survive a wet English winter?
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Loving the dahlias! Thankfully it has cooled down a little today here in Wales, but we’re definitely in need of some rain!
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Thank you, they are a must-have plant in my garden.
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Our heat over here is hotter than ever before and the nights have stayed unpleasantly hot. We have inherited some Mimosa trees and I cannot imagine anything spreading worse than they do. The roots spread then the trees pop up at a distance straight from the roots. Invasive plants can be a problem. I did not know about the Houttuynia but it is now noted. Amelia
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