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"Asher Minns, Communication and Centre Manager at the Tyndall Centre came to the Climate Change Studio to talk about the importance of communicating climate science in an understandable way. "

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The ‘high’ greenhouse gas emissions garden represents a future 2050s garden, with higher global emissions than experienced by the ‘low emissions’ and heritage garden. The world shown in the ‘high emissions’ garden arose from the same conditions as nowadays with intensive burning of fossil-fuels and rapid global economic development.

Garden climate

The lowest winter and highest average summer temperatures have increased by one degree centigrade more than the ‘low’ emissions garden. Both temperatures have increased by over 2°C from the current average. The growing season is a little longer in spring and significantly longer in autumn.
Twenty six more hot days are projected each summer compared to the current average.

Gardening practices

Extreme weather is likely to become significant for gardeners. Planting will take into account the likelihood of increasing storm damage. Annual rainfall amounts may not change much, but gardens will need to cope with intense rainfall and in some places with the risk of flooding. Droughts will become more common, as gardens have to cope with more consecutive days with no rain.

The high emissions garden features plants that are now more commonly grown in a cool conservatory for at least part of the year. These half-hardy species may now be grown outside year round.

Garden planting

Plants clothing the walls include Plumbago capensis, and the parrot claw plant (Clianthus puriceus). Hardier cacti and succulents provide strong sculptural features, such as Aeonium arboreum ‘Schwartskoft’. The signature planting of Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) is suitable for the high emissions and low emissions garden because it tolerates both high temperatures and variable rainfall.

The ‘high’ greenhouse gas emissions garden represents a future 2050s garden, with higher global emissions than experienced by the ‘low emissions’ and heritage garden. The world shown in the ‘high emissions’ garden arose from the same conditions as nowadays with intensive burning of fossil-fuels and rapid global economic development.

Garden climate

The lowest winter and highest average summer temperatures have increased by one degree centigrade more than the ‘low’ emissions garden. Both temperatures have increased by over 2°C from the current average. The growing season is a little longer in spring and significantly longer in autumn.
Twenty six more hot days are projected each summer compared to the current average.

Gardening practices

Extreme weather is likely to become significant for gardeners. Planting will take into account the likelihood of increasing storm damage. Annual rainfall amounts may not change much, but gardens will need to cope with intense rainfall and in some places with the risk of flooding. Droughts will become more common, as gardens have to cope with more consecutive days with no rain.

The high emissions garden features plants that are now more commonly grown in a cool conservatory for at least part of the year. These half-hardy species may now be grown outside year round.

Garden planting

Plants clothing the walls include Plumbago capensis, and the parrot claw plant (Clianthus puriceus). Hardier cacti and succulents provide strong sculptural features, such as Aeonium arboreum ‘Schwartskoft’. The signature planting of Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) is suitable for the high emissions and low emissions garden because it tolerates both high temperatures and variable rainfall.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2 ) are produced when fossil fuels such as oil, coal or gas are burnt. Emissions of these greenhouse gases contribute to man-made climate change. These emissions have been rapidly increasing since the industrial era (c.1850 onwards).

Heritage climate

The heritage garden represents a classic border from the 1950s period. At this time, little was known about manmade climate change, although greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels were rapidly increasing.

Heritage gardening

The heritage border contains plants which would have featured at Chelsea in the 1950s, such as Delphinium, foxglove (Digitalis) and Lupin backed by Azalea. A cordon Cox’s Orange Pippin (Malus domestica) is trained on the back wall. Such typical cottage garden planting may be threatened by climate change because of increasing emissions leading to higher temperatures and changing rainfall.