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News: October 2003

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Gardens set to change in wake of global warming

Appeared on Space For Nature on 14th October 2003
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The effects of global warming on our gardens, like the rest of the environment, look set to be quite dramatic.
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 Details  
Among the predicted effects are:
  • Accelerated growth rates
  • Taller plants
  • Main growing season shifting to autumn after summer droughts
  • Winter-long blooming
  • Lawns which need cutting all winter
  • Super-weeds competing with the faster growing garden plants
  • Southern species extending their ranges northwards
  • Pests that survive through the winter when before they died
No one is sure of the time-scales involved here, but one prediction is for a year-round growing season in southern England before 2080. Clearly there are going to be some changes and challenges for the gardener. I don't worry about gardener's ability to adapt and maintain spectacular gardens come what may, but I do worry that the pace of change could have a much more deleterious affect on much of our native wildlife.
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 Source  
New Scientist. 2003. Global warming to put gardens in bloom. Viewed on the web at http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994245 on October 14th 2003.

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