12 Sep 2007 - My name
is Tara Dillard. I am 47 years old and I
work as a garden designer and horticultural
author. I grew up in Nassau Bay, Texas but
have lived in the Atlanta, Georgia area
since 1982. Gardening and working with plants
has been a life-long passion for me. I began
working professionally in the field 23 years
ago.
Change of Seasons
I grew up in a region of Texas with a semi-tropical
climate, which meant we basically had one
season all year long. One aspect that I
love about Georgia, and partly why I moved
here, is the distinction between the four
seasons. As a gardener I really appreciate
all of the changes that each season brings.
One of the main changes I have noticed
here is that the winters have been much
warmer in recent years than in the past.
The winter season is not as long as it used
to be, and the cold is not as intense. In
addition, the drought situation here has
been intensifying. When I first came to
Atlanta, we had some very cold winters,
but it seems as though it’s been getting
milder and warmer ever since.
As an example of these warmer winter temperatures,
early last November I spied a tiny bud by
my front door. This was a big deal to me
because it was a Shasta daisy (not something
that normally comes out during winter).
Over the next few weeks it slowly swelled
and on Christmas day it opened up. It was
beautiful…but very unusual.
It is difficult for gardeners when it warms
up so early in the year. It was like we
had two springs this year. In January, the
temperatures soared and this caused the
hydrangeas to leaf out very early. This
was problematic because we had a late cold
spell around Easter. This lead to a great
deal of damage to the plants that had leafed
out thinking spring had begun—even some
of the oaks were in bad shape.
Plants can recover from damage like this.
The problem is that we are in a drought
cycle as well which puts a huge stress on
them. Droughts here are part of a natural
cycle, but recently they have been intensifying.
Combine this with an early bud break followed
by a cold spell and recovery for plants
is uncertain. All of these factors lead
to greater stress on the plants which can
then increase the occurrence of disease
and insect problems.
A Change in Plant Species
In Atlanta we are at the southern range
of the Canadian hemlock. I used to use these
trees in my planting designs regularly,
but I no longer do because they undergo
too much stress during the dry, hot summers
and will likely die.
On the flip side, there are several plant
species thriving now which did not necessarily
do so in the past. Plants like Todosporum,
dwarf Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis species),
and gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’)
were once considered ‘tender shrubs’, and
would usually not make it through a season.
Now they appear to be growing well year
round. In general, plants do not need to
be as hearty in terms of surviving through
the winter months anymore.
Tough times for Gardeners and Landscapers
I think that the biggest impact on my business
comes from the water restrictions imposed
here in Atlanta. Business dropped off last
summer and fall, and this spring I am less
busy than normal. It has been quite noticeable
across this sector because, overall, the
economy has been in an upswing. It is very
hard to make a living at gardening alone
— it is hard to imagine someone wanting
to start out in this profession at this
time.
For people like me, we are faced not only
with the challenges related to global warming
and drought, but also to a population of
people less in-tune with their environment.
People want and expect less and less out
of their garden spaces, and there is less
of a do-it-yourself mentality. People want
decks, patios and outdoor kitchens instead
of living gardens. The water restrictions
that our region now faces nearly every season
also plays a role in this because it makes
gardening more difficult.
Scientific background
The National Arborday Foundation published
a new plant hardiness map in 2006. The new
map reflects increasing mean winter low
temperatures and effectively changed the
plant hardiness zones for many portions
of the United States. The Atlanta, Georgia
region moved up from a zone 7 to a zone
8. The National Arborday Foundation map
is based on the most recent 15 years' data
available from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's 5,000 National
Climatic Data Center cooperative stations
across the United States.
www.arbordy.org/media/zonechanges2006.cfm
