.... On checking, I noticed yesterday that my hedges are the same way. I usually have to cut them back every six weeks or so (holly, ivy, beech). But it's barely budged this summer. The blackfly did desert in the high heat, but now I think they are coming back. It was nice for a while.
We didn't get any rain for 6 weeks from May to mid June, and I don't water anything other than the strawberries and seeds/transplants when they are planted. The strawberries don't need the water to survive but they do need it to produce a decent saleable crop.
I wouldn't even consider watering a tree or any established plant, if they can't cope then they don't deserve to survive. I have very shallow sandy soil, around 30cm and then we have chalk which is topped with a heavy layer of flint. Most perennials can get their roots down into the chalk where there is a good supply of water for them year round
As someone who gardens in one of the wetter parts of the UK, and incidentally, in a wet place even by local standards, I do sympathise with all of you who are losing plants and hard work due to drought. But I lose plants, topsoil, mulch, and hard work when we have excessive rainfall.
You can, to some extent, add water, (until the hosepipe bans kick in.)
You cannot remove it when it is flowing fast through your garden. There is no magic plughole. The fear of the rain not stopping is I think worse than the fear of it not arriving.
We all face uncertainty because of climate change. Please don't decry those of us on the wetter areas as if we do not have any problems. We envy you your long gardening season, your ability to cross your grass in shoes, not wellies, the clean dry atmosphere where everything is not consumed by moss and green algae.
Water is an essential to life, but trust me, it as is frightening and damaging in excess as heat and sun.
Our spring was bit of rain bit of sun, everything was growing fantastically. Unfortunately, the dry weather hasnt stopped the weeds here. We also have a pretty large drive, part beach sized shingle, that has a proper sub-base, rarely gets weeds, we do have a lot of snapdragons, which have seeded themselves, which of course are left. Avon lady, last month said "I see your shingle is full of weeds like mine", told her they werent weeds, they were snapdragons, she replied "what are snapdragons", er.... they are! (She did then ask me a question about her fake grass lawn, told her I had no experience of such things!!!)Topbird, sounds like when we moved here. One border alongside the bungalow, is almost total shade, gets a little sun mid day in summer, when its high enough to get over the fence. Just like you described. In the end hubby dug it out to a depth of about a foot,then came across the gas main, bought a couple of ton of top soil, re-planted it, ferns,astilbes,honeysuckle,fatsia,scabias,primroses,hostas,lilly of the valley. Just the other side of the gate, south facing, very hot and dry, difficult to plant, the soil is only about 6 inches deep, we cannot make it any deeper, because of concrete foundations, the size and proximity to next doors border. In spring there are irises in there almost black, at the moment dahlias which stay in all year, various coneflowers hubby grew from seed.
I think we can see across the forum and across the years that giving any broad advice can be pretty useless. We need to know the exact details of where people are and what conditions they are grappling with. As in gardening, so in life.
True. When we don't have that information though, all we can do is give advice based on our own experience and hope the readers are able to apply some judgement.
Just because advice doesn't work where someone lives doesn't make it wrong. It doesn't even necessarily make it wrong for most people. And to dismiss sensible advice as 'preaching' because it wouldn't work for you is also unnecessarily condemnatory.
I got soaked this morning, walking the dog. It got above 30degrees last week (just) but the grass is still growing (too wet to cut though). We 'bought' these more temperate summer conditions with April, May and June with an average day time max temp of 12 degrees and only a handful when it got above 15 degrees. That's not 'normal', even for here. It's extremely windy and there are a great many plants I can't grow at all because the leaves can't take the bitter winter winds. Britain has a mild and gentle climate, and we are generally fortunate. The extremes we have are actually reasonably possible to adapt to in the main. We still get years when the weather is an outlier on the bell curve and everyone's 'usual' fails.
Next year will be different - it always is for us, luckily.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I can sympathise with @Woodgreen. Our grass is always wet, can’t sit on it. It’s all moss. We don’t flood here, if we did the whole of Cornwall would be under water.
Lots of plants don’t survive the cold nights, this winter especially, plants I don’t grow anymore because of the wind.
We all have our problems. We wouldn’t be British if didn’t moan, It’s what we do.
@raisingirl I agree, that was a useful drop of rain this morning.
If I ever give any information to posters, I always go by what I would do, when I say I don’t plant anything out until June, I’m sure other people think I’m talking out of my hat. I have no runner beans yet, and only just picked a few tomatoes, all kept indoors, others have been eating theirs for weeks.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
@Lyn I haven't got any ripe toms yet either. The cucumbers are going well though. I think I may be able to pick a first handful of runner beans this evening for dinner. French beans are only just flowering - it's all late because it was so cold for so long. We had the really cold night on Tuesday as well. The rain's gone off now - could have done with it all day as the ground is rock hard but the main rain barrel is full again so some good came of it
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I really appreciate sensible advice but not the self congratulatory 'We never water because WE chose the right plant' ( YOU didn't) sort.
Anybody who pretends to know anything about gardening understands that conditions vary enormously. It's especially important to remember the differences between light soil and heavy soil. You'll waste your time and money planting up a Mediterranean garden on sticky clay, no matter how dry it is now.
If you give advice, it is best to say, match your planting to you conditions, not do what I do.
@Woodgreen - I do hope you didn't think I was belittling or not acknowledging the problems faced by those with too much rainfall. I realise that far too much is as damaging as nowhere near enough.
One of my forum friends in the NW regularly posts that her pond is under water as her garden floods (yet again) in winter. She loses plants to drowning most years so I do appreciate the problems you face. It's a shame we can't share it all round a bit more! When I said I like a very wet summer I probably meant a relatively dry to normal one for you! Just as you are in the wettest part of a wet area, so I am in the driest part of a dry area.
I'm sorry if some of my earlier postings on this thread came across as rude and grumpy. It's just that I am feeling very miserable about the state of garden - it looks tired and 'done' and brown and it's a battle to stop things dying. No sign of rain in the forecast and hotter temps over the coming days so it will get worse not better. The only consolation is that everyone's garden around here looks the same. Very disheartening.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Posts
But I lose plants, topsoil, mulch, and hard work when we have excessive rainfall.
You can, to some extent, add water, (until the hosepipe bans kick in.)
You cannot remove it when it is flowing fast through your garden. There is no magic plughole. The fear of the rain not stopping is I think worse than the fear of it not arriving.
We all face uncertainty because of climate change. Please don't decry those of us on the wetter areas as if we do not have any problems. We envy you your long gardening season, your ability to cross your grass in shoes, not wellies, the clean dry atmosphere where everything is not consumed by moss and green algae.
Water is an essential to life, but trust me, it as is frightening and damaging in excess as heat and sun.
Just because advice doesn't work where someone lives doesn't make it wrong. It doesn't even necessarily make it wrong for most people. And to dismiss sensible advice as 'preaching' because it wouldn't work for you is also unnecessarily condemnatory.
I got soaked this morning, walking the dog. It got above 30degrees last week (just) but the grass is still growing (too wet to cut though). We 'bought' these more temperate summer conditions with April, May and June with an average day time max temp of 12 degrees and only a handful when it got above 15 degrees. That's not 'normal', even for here. It's extremely windy and there are a great many plants I can't grow at all because the leaves can't take the bitter winter winds. Britain has a mild and gentle climate, and we are generally fortunate. The extremes we have are actually reasonably possible to adapt to in the main. We still get years when the weather is an outlier on the bell curve and everyone's 'usual' fails.
Next year will be different - it always is for us, luckily.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Lots of plants don’t survive the cold nights, this winter especially, plants I don’t grow anymore because of the wind.
We all have our problems. We wouldn’t be British if didn’t moan, It’s what we do.
@raisingirl I agree, that was a useful drop of rain this morning.
If I ever give any information to posters, I always go by what I would do, when I say I don’t plant anything out until June, I’m sure other people think I’m talking out of my hat.
I have no runner beans yet, and only just picked a few tomatoes, all kept indoors, others have been eating theirs for weeks.
The rain's gone off now - could have done with it all day as the ground is rock hard but the main rain barrel is full again so some good came of it
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Anybody who pretends to know anything about gardening understands that conditions vary enormously. It's especially important to remember the differences between light soil and heavy soil. You'll waste your time and money planting up a Mediterranean garden on sticky clay, no matter how dry it is now.
If you give advice, it is best to say, match your planting to you conditions, not do what I do.
@Woodgreen - I do hope you didn't think I was belittling or not acknowledging the problems faced by those with too much rainfall. I realise that far too much is as damaging as nowhere near enough.
One of my forum friends in the NW regularly posts that her pond is under water as her garden floods (yet again) in winter. She loses plants to drowning most years so I do appreciate the problems you face. It's a shame we can't share it all round a bit more! When I said I like a very wet summer I probably meant a relatively dry to normal one for you! Just as you are in the wettest part of a wet area, so I am in the driest part of a dry area.
I'm sorry if some of my earlier postings on this thread came across as rude and grumpy. It's just that I am feeling very miserable about the state of garden - it looks tired and 'done' and brown and it's a battle to stop things dying. No sign of rain in the forecast and hotter temps over the coming days so it will get worse not better. The only consolation is that everyone's garden around here looks the same. Very disheartening.