Gardens: repairing summer's damage

This year's extreme weather has left our plots struggling. It's time to rethink how we gardenWhat a year it's been. While the months of soaring temperatures provided an initially welcome ray of sunshine after a long, cold, wet winter, the two extremes have damaged our gardens - and highlighted how vulnerable labour-intensive, primped-and-pruned plots can be. Mature trees and shrubs (with deeper root structures), perennial crops and wildflower-laden areas suffered less from the heat; but potted plants, which dry out quickly, became a time-consuming burden, requiring endless watering, while salad leaves stopped growing or wilted and died. Mediterranean, sun-loving produce such as tomatoes, aubergines, grapes, cucumbers, thyme, rosemary and oregano thrived; but leeks, broccoli, onions, carrots and potatoes were hit hard, a fact mirrored in farmers' worrying crop yields this year.Soil erosion and heat stress left plants more vulnerable to pests and diseases, while the wet winter threatenedsoil fertility and increased the risk of nutrients being washed away. Cyclical natural phenomena, predicted to amplify the effects of global warming over the next four years, could result in greater extremes. The RHS recently partnered with Cranfield University to recruit the UK's first garden water scientist, to research how gardeners can better deal with drought and flood; but in the meantime, what can we do to repair the damage and increase our gardens' resilience? Here's how to get started. Continue reading...