Extreme weather leaves gardeners hedging their bets

Gardeners in one of the most drought-hit parts of the UK have said they are adapting their planting strategies amid increasingly extreme weather.West Sussex - like most of the country - experienced an unprecedented summer marked by record-breaking heatwaves and severe drought. The conditions have put immense stress on many traditional plant species, with some seriously struggling or dying completely. Iain Parkinson, head of landscape and horticulture at Kew Wakehurst near Ardingly, said he had seen a "big change" in climate over the some 40 years he has worked there. "We've had trees die," he added. Meanwhile, senior gardener at High Beeches near Haywards Heath, Elliot Chandler, said some rhododendrons had died off this year. "That's probably going to continue," he said."We'll do what we can for the plants...but if they're not surviving, then we need to plant different things."That's the only way we can really maintain the garden and keep it full of interest and flowers."