BEAT THE HEAT!
It seems records are being smashed with alarming frequency. Last spring was the sunniest on record, with May registering as the driest ever May across England and the second driest in Wales. Then there’s July 25, 2019, which the Met Office declared the UK’s hottest day of all time when the mercury at Cambridge University Botanic Garden topped out at 38.7C - that’s more than 100F!
As the climate warms, so does the likelihood and severity of heatwaves. More sunshine and warmer temperatures make for drier soils during the growing season, presenting new challenges - and opportunities - to gardeners. You can’t miss the changes happening all around us, from the date of the first lawn mow to the return of frosty nights in autumn.
Soil-cracking summers may be the shape of things to come, but gardeners are a resourceful bunch, and there’s lots to learn from those growing in much hotter climates than ours.
LOVE YOUR SOIL
Preparations for longer, hotter summers begin months in advance with the addition of
