New Garden Trends
Climate Change Garden
What does the future have in store for the great British garden? Will it be transformed as climate change kicks in over the next 50 years and is there a way to design a future-poof garden?
Judging from the show gardens at Chelsea 2007, many garden designers are already focusing on the problems, and benefits, of a changing climate.
Summer rainfall is predicted to halve by 2050. So one of the key features for a resilient but dazzling garden is to save every last drop of water, and then to make use of it in the most efficient way. This means you can still have those bright but thirsty blooms - so long as you balance their needs with some hardy, drought-resistant planting. You can find plenty of inspiration in gardens from the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Traditional trees and hedging might suffer too, if not from drought then from violent storms that could become a more regular feature of our weather. Fortunately there are plenty of potential substitutes, including bamboos, holm oak or eucalyptus. At the same time, a longer, warmer growing season means that more exotic plants like palms will become a common sight outdoors.
This feature was published in May 2007.
There are plenty of grasses that are happy without a soaking – but you won’t be able to cut them short. Try blue foliage varieties, for example, or create a meadow of californian grasses and sedges. And why not sprinkle in a few wild flowers for colour?
For a wide selection of grasses try specialists Knoll Gardens.
Designed as an astronaut’s garden on Mars, it featured a variety of drought-tolerant and dry planting. For more down-to-earth gardens, try agave, yucca, sempervivums, euphorbia and sedum.
Thompson and Morgan have a range of succulents that you can grow from seed.
For a wide selection of hardy plants visit Crocus.
Summer rainfall is predicted to halve by 2050. So one of the key features for a resilient but dazzling garden is to save every last drop of water, and then to make use of it in the most efficient way. This means you can still have those bright but thirsty blooms - so long as you balance their needs with some hardy, drought-resistant planting. You can find plenty of inspiration in gardens from the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Traditional trees and hedging might suffer too, if not from drought then from violent storms that could become a more regular feature of our weather. Fortunately there are plenty of potential substitutes, including bamboos, holm oak or eucalyptus. At the same time, a longer, warmer growing season means that more exotic plants like palms will become a common sight outdoors.
This feature was published in May 2007.
Great Grasses
It might be wise to forget that perfect English lawn – they gobble water and hot, dry summers will leave them parched and brown. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a spot to stretch out and picnic.There are plenty of grasses that are happy without a soaking – but you won’t be able to cut them short. Try blue foliage varieties, for example, or create a meadow of californian grasses and sedges. And why not sprinkle in a few wild flowers for colour?
For a wide selection of grasses try specialists Knoll Gardens.
Super Soakers
Succulents will do well in a drier climate, and at Chelsea 2007, Sarah Eberle proved they can be used to create an award-winning design with her 600 Days with Bradstone Martian garden that won Best-in-Show.Designed as an astronaut’s garden on Mars, it featured a variety of drought-tolerant and dry planting. For more down-to-earth gardens, try agave, yucca, sempervivums, euphorbia and sedum.
Thompson and Morgan have a range of succulents that you can grow from seed.
Tough Customers
If succulents aren’t your thing, there is still a world of tough but good-looking plants to choose from. Everything from evergreen conifers and laurel, to buddleia and lilac. Plenty of plants with grey waxy leaves are drought tolerant too, including lavenders, rosemary, convolvulus and even olive trees.For a wide selection of hardy plants visit Crocus.
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