Purple Wellies

As the garden growing season gets underway for another year, I look at ways in which we can future proof our gardens to help protect them from extreme weather events like flash flooding or drought which the UK is expected to endure more of in the future.

As the last leaves fall, Woking’s towers are becoming ever prominent from far and wide. Whether you are in-favour or opposed to these urban complexes, many of us will endure the view of high-rise living from our gardens, whilst feeling their once tranquil garden space is losing its seclusion. With the reality of a further developed skyline we could hope for something as stunning as The Bosco Verticale in Milan or The Supertree Grove in Singapore, but I’m sure we will be left with unfulfilled biophilic tendencies from the developments.

Bulb planting season is nearly upon us again. A few choice bulbs choose to flower now, like Sternbergia lutea. Similar to the autumn crocus, this is one to try if you have a free draining border against a sunny house wall where nothing else will grow. To see us through to autumn with its gossamer, downward facing heads is Gladiolus papillo and the copper-tinted flowers of Gladiolus dalenii subsp. dalenii.
 

Pests and disease, although not much documented in the past, are something us gardeners have endured for as long as we have cultivated plants. In more recent years it seems we are now getting an influx in these problems arising. This is happening for several reasons. Partly we are importing in large volumes of plants and plant based products such as timber from varying locations across the globe. Our climate has seen temperatures rising, and with this the knock on effect on the plant and pests life cycle, allowing for some critters now successfully overwintering or for other pests from abroad surviving in our warming climate to expand...

June is the transition from the spring garden, with woodlanders in their race to bloom against the tree canopies, to the summer garden of swelteringly hot days, clement nights and borders crammed to bursting with heady scents. This transition period we refer to as the ‘June gap’ - the lull before real summer beauties can show off their stuff.  So what to do if you find your borders a bit flat at this time of year? Well there are plants that span the seasons.