As global temperatures rise and the impacts of climate change are felt more keenly around the world, avid gardeners in the UK may well find that they have to make a few alterations to their outdoor spaces and start growing a variety of different plants, with the classic English garden as we know it consigned to the history books.
Speaking to iNews, leading horticulturalist Chris Kidd – who curates the Isle of Wight’s Ventnor Botanic Gardens – explained that some plant species may well struggle to survive in the face of hotter, drier weather in the summer and warmer temperatures in the winter months.
He suggested that the traditional English rose may soon find it hard to survive, as could viburnums and magnolias, but these could be replaced by the likes of palm trees and ginger plants instead.
Our lawns may also be affected by extreme fluctuations in temperature, as well as unpredictable rainfall, Mr Kidd went on to predict.
“[The traditional English lawn] is made up of grasses that are increasingly unable to cope with drought predictions,” he said, adding that gardeners may have to find tougher options that aren’t as fine. “They’re a coarser, tougher grass, which doesn’t stripe so well.”
The expert continued, advising gardeners to “work with the climate that you have got”, choosing your garden plants with this in mind.
A recent report from the University of Reading also investigated how climate change would affect gardeners, finding that drought and flooding will prevent many from growing their favourite plants, blackcurrants are among some of the traditional fruits that could disappear and new pests and diseases could crop up, spreading quicker in warm conditions.
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