National Trust gardener takes French lesson in fight against climate change

A trainee gardener at National Trust’s Hardwick Hall near Chesterfield spent two weeks in May at Chateau Villandry in France’s Loire Valley. Tim Turner, on National Trust’s Careership training programme, was awarded a bursary on the Martin McLaren European Garden Scheme, in order to find out what gardening practices we could adopt here in the East Midlands, and what plants we could grow, as the climate changes.

Climate change is already affecting how we garden. Tim wanted to know what we might expect in the future here in the East Midlands, and how we could respond. As a first step, he used the UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09), but he didn’t stop there. He discovered that France’s Loire Valley has a climate a little warmer and drier than Chesterfield’s (similar to the medium emissions scenario in the 2050’s), and decided to go and find out more.

Chateau Villandry is situated 20km west of Tours, and is perhaps the most famous and respected Renaissance garden restoration in the world, composed of geometric patterns, classical elements such as pools, fountains and clipped hedges, and featuring a stunning two acre ornamental vegetable garden, or “potager”.

Although energy and resource intensive, the garden is progressive and “green” wherever it can be. Now organic, all controls are physical, biological or cultural (not chemical). In 2008, the Sun Garden and Cloud Garden were unveiled, both modern plantings of perennials and shrubs within a formal structure. These very low-input areas suit the garden, somehow managing to straddle five centuries and tie the Renaissance garden to the 21st century.

Subtle differences in gardening practices were a reminder of the difference in climate: Dahlias covered over with lime leaves in winter; longer grass on lawns; an automatic sprinkler system. Seeing familiar plants (those grown in the East Midlands) thrive there was reassuring. By tinkering with cultural practices, and being responsible in our resource use, Tim believes that we can protect our plant collections. Gardening is, after all, about creating the right conditions for plants.

Where to look for further information:

The National Trust has identified climate change as one of the greatest challenges it faces. To find out what they are doing about it, visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-countryside_environment/w-climate_change.htm

To find out more about the National Trust’s Greener Gardens initiative, visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-places_collections/w-gardens-greenergardens.htm

Find out more about Hardwick Hall and Chateau Villandry:
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-hardwickhall
www.chateauvillandry.com

To explore the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) for yourself, visit: http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/