More and more gardens are struggling to open due to the impact of wet weather and flooding. What does this mean for gardens and garden visitors?
The news that Great Dixter had to cancel its Spring Plant Fair arrived this week is the latest announcement in a string of cancellations, delays and closures to hit public gardens and events in the last few months. Waterlogged gardens are increasingly on the rise, it seems.
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It’s been wet, of that nobody can deny. Met Office Figures showed that the last 18 months have seen a record amount of rainfall, with 1,695.9 mm of rain falling from October 2022 to March 2024. The winter of 2023/2024 has been the eighth wettest on record in the UK, while the south of England experienced its wettest February since 1836.
Gardens including Stockton Bury have had to delay opening (although the cafe and plant sales are open) because of waterlogging, and Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens cancelled a recent event because of too much rain.
We are constantly seeing posts from people like Monty Don about flooding in fields surrounding his garden, while gardens and flower farms such as Mill Pond Flower Farm in Berwick-upon-Tweed have been hit by a vast amount of water.
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At the National Trust’s Charlecote Park in Warwickshire, a 260-year old Cedar of Lebanon came down in the deer park, probably due to the weight of water brought by Storm Babet in October 2023. The tree is thought to have been planted in the 1760s as part of improvements made by ‘Capability’ Brown‘. Large areas of the parkland were closed or inaccessible due to flooding, storm damage and waterlogged ground.
The River Tern burst its banks around the same time, causing the Deer Park at Attingham Park to be closed and huge swathes of water flowed through the parkland. This month, parts of the garden at Alfriston Clergy House in East Sussex were restricted due to extended flooding.
It’s not just rain. February was the warmest on record globally
A spokesperson for the National Trust said that the organisation continues to work on projects with Shropshire Council and the Environment Agency, to help slow-the-flow and reduce flood risk. But it’s a constant battle.
It’s not just rain. February was the warmest on record globally and gardeners and scientists are increasingly noticing that the changes in weather are significantly affecting plants and wildlife.
Scientists from the University of Warwick have been looking into how the early appearance of blossoms and blooms – around four weeks earlier than usual – is impacting on the environment, wildlife hibernation, but also crops and therefore food prices.
“Many of the natural events that occur this season are influenced by weather conditions in the preceding months,” explains Professor Rosemary Collier, crop expert at the University of Warwick. “This includes the first flowering of plants such as daffodils and when particular tree species produce new leaves.”
Observations show a clear warming trend for average UK winter temperature, and this trend is expected to continue in the future due to human induced climate change. This doesn’t mean the UK will no longer see cold spells, but cold spells are projected to become less frequent and less severe.
Wet weather is very bad for bees, as they don’t fly in the rain
Professor Collier added: “Although rainfall observations show large variability, it has generally become wetter, particularly during winter. Met Office climate projections indicate that on average, winters will continue to become wetter and summers drier, though natural variability will mean we will continue to see individual years that don’t follow this trend.”
The National Trust recently confirmed that the changes in weather this year has meant certain flowering trees and blossom have emerged four weeks earlier than usual.
Last year, the magnolias at Glendurgan in Cornwall reached their peak flowering in late March, whereas this year, they started emerging and reached optimum flowering four weeks early.
John Lanyon, National Trust garden manager for Trelissick, Glendurgan, Trerice and Bosloe in Cornwall said: “Due to Cornwall’s unique microclimate, we haven’t been hit as badly by the heavy rainfall that has been persistent across many areas of the country since the autumn.
“But it has been so mild that some of the varieties of rhododendrons that we care for have been blooming since late November, and not properly ‘shutting’ down.”
Chris Flynn, Head Gardener at Dyffryn said: “Across our garden, the warm and wet weather has really turned up the dial, with our Magnolia denudata, liliflora and soulangeana are both out three weeks ahead of the norm. “
What does this mean for gardens and farmers? Flood defence is a key element of how to manage a garden or green space. Focusing on crops and plants that will be resilient in the face of flooding will also be very important, as will supporting wildlife that are struggling in the face of climate change.
Professor David Chandler, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, said “Wet weather is very bad for bees, as they don’t fly in the rain – so bees that need to venture out early in spring to look for food for the colony, and are faced with lots of rainy days, could struggle.”
If they do emerge early there may be insufficient sources of food to maintain them. Planting trees, shrubs, and other plants that flower early, to ensure that there is a supply of nectar, is a good way of trying to help.