Troubled waters

Val looks at how climate change may affect watering

- Val Bourne

IF you've been a gardener for a long time, you must have noticed the change in the British climate in recent years. As a teenager in the 1960s (oh, that makes me feel so old) summer was very much a case of three fine days and a thunderstorm. This phrase is attributed to George II, who was king during the hot and presumably thundery summers of the 1730s. Our climate was known for growing things well, because there were regular bursts of rain in spring and summer.

British winters were cold and many of the plants coming into the country during the 17th century came from hotter climes like the Mediterranean. The most clement conditions are always close to rivers and lakes because water stores warmth and the thermals make the air circulate, thereby reducing frost damage. In winter the breeze is warming and, in summer, the heat is dissipated.