Future poof your garden with Perennial Plants

The gardens of the future are resilient to climate change, are more sustainable by reducing waste, recycling materials and saving water and produce healthy, nutrient dense vegetables. They will be more biodiverse and matched to their micro-climate.

And the good news is: Everyone can be part of the solution, even if space is scarce: Gardening in containers, on patios, balconies and rooftops are all suitable options in a more urban environment. And for people with no gardens and none of the above there are community gardens, buyer cooperatives and community supported agricultural schemes available nearly everywhere and if not can be organised.

The current climate crisis forces us to think more long-term about our gardens and how we grow our own food. As the seasons become more unpredictable and weather patterns change we have to prepare ourselves for more unseasonal weather. We just had an unseasonal wet and cool Summer, last year we had periods of hot, dry spells and then there are the windy periods.

Growing organically is essential and other tips

Future-proofing our gardens means reducing the environmental impact of gardening. We often forget that the simple step of growing “organically” has a huge impact. Not using any artificial fertilisers and doing away with herbicides and pesticides immediately reduces our carbon footprint. Other obvious practices are saving water by collecting rainwater, sharing seeds and propagating plants ourselves, recycling and composting and using sustainable materials.

Here are some more very practical tips on how to future-proof your garden:

·        Utilise small spaces (patios, balconies, windowsills, grow in pots, containers, raised beds)

·        Choose plants that give you value for space, intercrop and interplant flowers with vegetables.

·        Consider vertical solutions to maximise your space.

·        Plant and grow in succession, to maximise your harvest.

·        Use a polytunnel or glasshouse for all year round growing.

·        Grow herbs on the windowsill indoors or during the summer outdoors.

·        Use companion planting to increase the variety and minimise problems.

·        Choose varieties that are suited to your local climate and more resilient to weather extremes.

·        Use sustainable practises like composting, mulching and natural pest control to reduce waste, conserve water and promote a healthy soil.

·        Choose durable and quality materials that last and require little maintenance, (terracotta)

·        Design your garden with flexibility in mind.

·        When it comes to more permanent features like hedges or trees consider carefully the ultimate size and the suitability to your local micro climate.

·        Another often overlooked solution is growing perennial vegetables.

Resilience in the garden with perennial vegetables

In light of climatic changes the debate is on about ways to adapt and to make our gardens more resilient. Often it just needs a change of mindset. Often our garden practices are high maintenance and vulnerable to the elements. The new trends of growing food in a climate crisis are all about no dig and biodiversity, meaning that we have to move away from neat and tidy vegetable plots and rather letting nature lead the way, which often means to be flexible and apply common sense. In that regard perennial vegetables are incredible useful plants. Not forgetting that most kitchen herbs we can grow are perennial (with the exception of the biennial parsley and the annual basil).

 What are Perennial Vegetables?

Unlike their annual and biennial counterparts, perennial vegetables are plants that live for more than two years, providing harvests season after season without the need to sow and plant each year. The advantages of having perennial vegetables in our garden are obvious: firstly once established they are low maintenance,  secondly as you only have to purchase the seeds or plants once they are also economical.

Benefits of having perennial plants

Once established their deeper root structure makes them more resilient during a dry period and they can also absorb an excess of rainwater. Most perennial herbs and vegetables are very disease and pest resistant. Perennials also remove the need for yearly  bed preparations. The soil they grow in is undisturbed (no-dig gardening) and if supplied with a good mulch of compost every year remains very productive. Perennials will extend your fresh food eating throughout the year and many of the herbs and vegetables can be harvested in spring in advance of the annuals, that have to be sown and planted and are typically not ready until June/July.

Here are the most important perennial plants:

·        Rhubarb

·        Jerusalem Artichokes

·        Horseradish

·        Asparagus

·        Perennial Kale

·        Sorrel

·        Globe Artichokes

·        Cardoons

·        Good King Henry