This is really interesting Jack - thank you! Like you I garden primarily with nature in mind but I believe that I can still have a garden that is beautiful and practical for us to use too. I’m continually trying to maintain a balance. We inherited a 60 year-old garden (nowhere nearly as large as yours, but still a decent size) and some plants have remained and others have been replaced during the 7 years we’ve been here. The biggest change I see now, and one that really makes me happy, is that there are plentiful self-seeded flowers such as scabious and foxglove, whereas before there were none. I hope you have a great gardening year in 2026!
That’s good Trevor, self seeders like that are so useful for popping up or filling gaps. They certainly seem to make our lives easier with carefree colour.
I suppose on this topic, those live fast self seeders are also able to adapt to our gardens’ conditions faster perhaps watching them in years to come will be important.
I sometimes like to do a thought experiment where I imagine locking up my garden and returning to it after twenty years to see what has thrived and what hasn't. I am sure that most of my garden would be overrun with fennel, scabious, birch trees and wild strawberries.
We still visit a house here in our village that we moved out of eleven years ago as we are friends with the current owners. They have changed the garden I made considerably (they aren't keen gardeners) but one thing they left alone is my pond. It's really interesting because the pond isn't really there anymore. Technically it is, but it's now more of a bog and is full of non-pond plants and a large shrub. In a few more years you wouldn't even know there had ever been one there.
I guess artificial ponds rely on us to maintain them, especially over a number of decades. To replace pond liner and clear organic matter. There is certainly a lesson in that.
30 years ago, we started our garden on what had been a cow pasture for decades.
We started by planting a hedge around it, and were happily surprising when years later we found out that on the so called 'Ferraris map' (The Ferraris map is a historical map of the Austrian Netherlands (this also Flanders) created between 1770 and 1778 by Count Joseph de Ferraris), there was a hedge in the exact same location.
10 years later, we bought the adjacent plot, that had been a cornfield for ten years.
Again we started by planting a hedge.
So we have quite a large garden, that we manage rather extensively.
Of course there is a traditional piece of garden and a vegetable garden but also a mixed grove, a meadow, an orchard.
Drought has its impact, as have some wet years. But by 'managing' rather than trying to controle, I think we enable nature to be as resilient as possible.
What a beautiful final paragraph! Thank you Anne, I couldn’t have described it better. And very interesting to hear of your own adventures and projects.
IN UK WE HAVE DROUGHT TYPE WEATHER SO WE HAVE DROUGHT RESISTANCE PLANTS, NOW WE’RE GOING TO HAVE WETTER SUMMERS, MEANING THAT THE PLANTS WOULD BE SATUATED AND DIE.
Hi David, in the UK the MetOffice is predicting an increased likelihood of longer, hotter and drier summers. Then winter will be milder leading to wetter conditions and increased likelihood of rain. But all is not lost because many plants are already demonstrating their tolerance to withstand that. However we do have to be smarter and prepare for the extremes, especially around food production.
Well to be fair to this Government, while they have got some things wrong, especially around nature protections, they’ve been the best Government in British history on renewable energy which will help prevent climate change.
Yes, Trump is currently one of the biggest problems because he is rolling back renewable progress and starting wars around the world that make the situation much worse. However it is vital that all countries, including the UK, continue to progress renewables. You are right, the world is in a very precarious moment.
This is really interesting Jack - thank you! Like you I garden primarily with nature in mind but I believe that I can still have a garden that is beautiful and practical for us to use too. I’m continually trying to maintain a balance. We inherited a 60 year-old garden (nowhere nearly as large as yours, but still a decent size) and some plants have remained and others have been replaced during the 7 years we’ve been here. The biggest change I see now, and one that really makes me happy, is that there are plentiful self-seeded flowers such as scabious and foxglove, whereas before there were none. I hope you have a great gardening year in 2026!
That’s good Trevor, self seeders like that are so useful for popping up or filling gaps. They certainly seem to make our lives easier with carefree colour.
I suppose on this topic, those live fast self seeders are also able to adapt to our gardens’ conditions faster perhaps watching them in years to come will be important.
I sometimes like to do a thought experiment where I imagine locking up my garden and returning to it after twenty years to see what has thrived and what hasn't. I am sure that most of my garden would be overrun with fennel, scabious, birch trees and wild strawberries.
What a great idea, I'll have to think about that for ours! Would it all become trees and if so, what would survive beneath? Interesting
We still visit a house here in our village that we moved out of eleven years ago as we are friends with the current owners. They have changed the garden I made considerably (they aren't keen gardeners) but one thing they left alone is my pond. It's really interesting because the pond isn't really there anymore. Technically it is, but it's now more of a bog and is full of non-pond plants and a large shrub. In a few more years you wouldn't even know there had ever been one there.
I guess artificial ponds rely on us to maintain them, especially over a number of decades. To replace pond liner and clear organic matter. There is certainly a lesson in that.
30 years ago, we started our garden on what had been a cow pasture for decades.
We started by planting a hedge around it, and were happily surprising when years later we found out that on the so called 'Ferraris map' (The Ferraris map is a historical map of the Austrian Netherlands (this also Flanders) created between 1770 and 1778 by Count Joseph de Ferraris), there was a hedge in the exact same location.
10 years later, we bought the adjacent plot, that had been a cornfield for ten years.
Again we started by planting a hedge.
So we have quite a large garden, that we manage rather extensively.
Of course there is a traditional piece of garden and a vegetable garden but also a mixed grove, a meadow, an orchard.
Drought has its impact, as have some wet years. But by 'managing' rather than trying to controle, I think we enable nature to be as resilient as possible.
What a beautiful final paragraph! Thank you Anne, I couldn’t have described it better. And very interesting to hear of your own adventures and projects.
Hi Jack
What does H4 8a-9b mean please?
IN UK WE HAVE DROUGHT TYPE WEATHER SO WE HAVE DROUGHT RESISTANCE PLANTS, NOW WE’RE GOING TO HAVE WETTER SUMMERS, MEANING THAT THE PLANTS WOULD BE SATUATED AND DIE.
Hi David, in the UK the MetOffice is predicting an increased likelihood of longer, hotter and drier summers. Then winter will be milder leading to wetter conditions and increased likelihood of rain. But all is not lost because many plants are already demonstrating their tolerance to withstand that. However we do have to be smarter and prepare for the extremes, especially around food production.
WHEN IS THE GOVERNMENT PREPREPARED FOR ANYTHING?
Well to be fair to this Government, while they have got some things wrong, especially around nature protections, they’ve been the best Government in British history on renewable energy which will help prevent climate change.
IT’S THE REST OF THE WORLD THAT’S THE PROBLEM LIKE RUSSIA AND USA
Yes, Trump is currently one of the biggest problems because he is rolling back renewable progress and starting wars around the world that make the situation much worse. However it is vital that all countries, including the UK, continue to progress renewables. You are right, the world is in a very precarious moment.