The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
A blooming great year for flower gardens in the UK
Warm winter, sunny spring and wet start to summer produce perfect conditions for abundance of colour
Gardens and green spaces are set to enjoy a spectacular – if brief – explosion of colour in the best summer flowering spectacle in years, experts said.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said this year’s weather has created optimal growing conditions for summer blooms, with the peak of two flowering seasons combining for a dramatic splash of colour.
A warm, wet winter followed by the sunniest May on record and a bout of rain in June has produced an exceptional crop of early and mid-summer flowers, the horticultural experts said.
Early blooms such as lilies, rhododendrons, irises, roses and hydrangeas have had an extended season, while mid-summer flowers such as verbena, rudbeckia, heleniums and geraniums are coming into their own.
But the best of the show could be over in days as the early summer flowers are likely to start going over next week, the RHS said.
Guy Barter, RHS chief horticulturalist, said: “A lack of frost and the light, warm start to the year meant growth was really good, helping produce big bulbs and lots of them.
“The sunniest May on record was followed by an unusually wet start to the summer, with England seeing 43% more rainfall last month than the June average, according to the Met Office.
“This combination of weather phenomena saw the sunshine bring early summer flowers into bloom earlier, while the welcome extra rain has helped stretch their season over a longer period. And all this combined has created the best crop of herbaceous plants seen in years.”