Hello gardeners!

It is no longer unusual to see gardens hit by drought conditions in early spring followed by atmospheric rivers in the fall. Heat domes, colder than usual frosts, wildfire smoke — these once-rare events are now part of the gardening calendar. And as gardeners, we’re not imagining it: the weather truly is different now.

For decades, gardeners could rely on historical weather patterns to guide planting, watering, and seasonal tasks. But the climate we garden in today is not the climate of our grandparents. Frost dates are shifting. Rain sometimes arrives all at once. Dry spells last weeks, not days. This volatility is directly tied to the warming atmosphere — gardens and gardeners are showing the stress.

One of the clearest examples is the impact of weather extremes on photosynthesis, the very process that keeps plants alive, cool, and useful in a warming world. Photosynthesis depends on water. It also helps plants pull carbon — and other pollutants — out of the air. Under drought conditions, plants close their stomata to conserve water. The cost? They can’t cool themselves properly. They are not functioning optimally within their natural cycle. They can’t store carbon.

For our gardens it is a sobering loop:

Plants must deal with hotter temperatures because of an excess of carbon in the atmosphere (thank you greenhouse gases).
Plants and trees help remove that carbon — but only if they’re healthy enough to function.
Climate extremes impair that natural function.
Resulting in less carbon being "sunk" in the garden, so the atmosphere continues warming.

It’s a feedback cycle we need to break — and gardens are precisely where that change can begin. Gardeners can make a real difference when it comes to the climate crisis.

So, what can a gardener do?

Start by observing. No need to panic. Notice what plants struggle during heatwaves versus those that rebound. Track how long the soil stays wet after a period of rain. Pay attention to frost timing. Stop and see what nature is telling you about your garden.

Next, we as gardeners can adapt

Plant for water management, not just color (some plants love soggy feet, while others not so much)
Add shade where the sun now overwhelms certain plants
If you notice a perennial that seems resilient to the conditions in your garden, propagate and add more. Do not rely on plant tags, you need to see the plant flourishing, or not, to determine whether it can handle new weather extremes. Talk to your gardening friends and join a garden club, so you can learn what is working for others in the community near you.
Re-evaluate what “drought tolerant” really means. I struggle with this term because a plant might be able to manage the May drought but how is going to handle November flooding. That is likely a blog post for another day.

Remember, this is not about gardening harder or controlling nature. It’s about working with the climate we have — not the one we remember.

Extreme weather is not a warning. It is an invitation…to garden differently. More observing and less controlling. To learn. To respond. And ultimately, to encourage resilience — one flourishing garden at a time.

Join me on this journey, together we can ease some of the climate anxiety you may be feeling by changing the way we garden, so we can contribute to the solution.

Be well,