Affects of climate in the garden

A recent survey suggests that UK gardeners can see signs of climate change in their gardens .

One such sign is the need to mow the lawn evening during the winter months and flowers blooming earlier than usual.

The survey commissioned by the Waste and Resources Action Programme, Know Your Compost found that 60 per cent of gardeners said and obvious sign of climate change was bulbs blooming earlier. Whereas 24 per cent found they had more in the way of garden waste from pruning etc.

Climate change can actually be combated in they way gardening is approached, but not many people realise this.

Over half of those surveyed understand how important recycling in the garden is, but how many of them actually does it? 19 per cent said they use peat-free composts and 34 per cent have a home compost in their garden.

Jackie Powell, managing director at compost producer Worm Tech in Cardiff, said, "We’ve seen an increase of approximately 30% in the amount of green waste we are processing compared to this time last year.

"While some of this can be attributed to the introduction of new local recycling services, it doesn’t account for the fact that we are seeing garden waste such as green foliage coming through in January and grass cuttings in February, which we wouldn’t normally see."

A backer of the campaign is TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin who said, "We are all now much more aware of climate change and gardeners are in a better position than most to notice how things are changing literally in their own back yards.

"Snowdrops came out very early this year and I’ve started to cut the lawn earlier than I did last year, too.

"The good thing is that there are lots of ways we can help the environment in our gardens just by doing really simple things.

"Choosing peat-free composts which contain recycled materials is, a great way to keep waste out of landfill and stop it rotting down to potentially create harmful greenhouse gases.

"Home composting is also easy and can cut down your average household bin by about 30%. And both deliver great results in your garden, too."

Climate change is affecting lawns across the UK as well as flowers coming into bloom early. 44 per cent said they have to start their mowing much earlier whereas 36 per cent said more frequent mowing was required.

Looking to the future, 67 per cent of gardeners worry about water shortages becoming the norm, which means that gardeners will have to work harder at keeping plants and lawns hydrated.

35 per cent of those surveyed fear that native plants will die out in such conditions such as delphiniums and lupins . Others feel that they will be able to grow a wider range of plants this will include species of cannas, palms, tree ferns and bananas.

Gardeners can make a difference by:

Having your own compost heaps to re-use waste, and you don’t have to buy compost for the garden saving you money ;

Using a water butt to collect rain water to save water supplies and reduce bills ;

Creating a fruit and vegetable patch this can help reduce trips to the supermarket and throw away packaging;

Using peat-free composts as it destroys natural habitats. There are alternatives to using peat that are just as effective.

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