The Guardian: Turning over a new leaf: historic English gardens adapt to the changing climate
- Joe Perkins
- Jul 18
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 23
Head gardeners try out more diverse and drought-resistant plants from around the world, with fascinating results
are succulents, palm and monkey puzzle trees, beaked yucca and oriental hornbeams are just some of the new features in the historic gardens of England, as head gardeners get to grips with the changing climate this summer.
In the historic Grade I-listed landscape at Sheffield Park and Garden in Sussex, designed in the 18th century by Capability Brown and Humphry Repton and famed for its rhododendrons and azaleas, the National Trust has planted a “more resilient” garden. It features drought-resistant flowers and trees from South America, Australasia and the Mediterranean.
Where once there was just a grassy clearing, there is now a Garden for the Future full of purple and blue salvia, yellow aloes, palm and monkey puzzle trees, rare beeches and other exotic and subalpine plants.
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