are known as climate. Geography also plays an important role in determining what the local climate is like. Each year, the weather may be different, but climate helps you work around these overall trends, and is especially helpful to plant growers.
There are 3 types of climate, which are all equally important to understand: the general climate (your region), the local climate (your garden), and the microclimate (immediate surroundings of a plant).
* General climate (your region)
This depends upon features such as how far north or south you are, how high up you are, prevailing wind directions, and how close you are to large bodies of water, such as the sea or a lake (water tends to keep heat overnight, so it regulates the surrounding temperature). This latter point also explains why the western coasts are milder than inland ones, due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
Two things to be careful about:
- Climate maps provide general tendencies over many years but do not tell you about extremes of weather you could be experiencing during a particular year.
- Most books and magazines usually target middle England which has a different, milder climate than for instance, northern England and Scotland. The same applies to western coasts where the climate can be warmer than in the Midlands.
* Local climate (your garden):
This is based on the general climate, but depends also on slope, openness, nearby buildings, soil type, and proximity to water. Although usually impossible to change, you can at least make a difference to the microclimate (see below for advice).
* Microclimate (immediate surroundings of a plant)
Iis a modified form of the local climate, and is responsible for large variations between different parts of your garden (nearby walls and hedges, overhanging plants).
TIP: You can make a difference by moving plants and other features around, or by using
cloches and windbreakers.
Remember these two ideas:
- Gardening with the
weather is mainly about
knowing your local climate.
TIP: Have a look around the countryside and around gardens in general. If you are new to gardening or are new in your area, you could also ask your local gardening or allotment society.
- It takes a bit of time to learn to recognise the natural development of plants (when they start and stop growing).
TIP: Again you could have a look at your local garden centres, or even "have a peek" at your neighbours' garden to see which type of plants are most likely to succeed!
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