Weather terrible- gardening continues

What awful weather we've had  lately in the UK. Well saying that doesn't do it justice. I have nothing but sympathy for everyone affected- and contrary to those who may think that down South it's only "posh" houses by the Thames affected I can assure you it isn't.

 Last week I saw hundreds of extremely ordinary terraced houses in the London Borough of Croydon with filthy water lapping against them (it must have been in the houses as well), sunken cars, water gushing from manholes, a couple of forlorn fire engines piping water around, desolate minor roads, and elsewhere traffic hold-ups where major road underpasses were deliberately flooded as temporary reservoirs. And it has been going on for weeks. All credit to the emergency services and others which has stopped what looks like a disaster zone from actually being one.   Elsewhere of course there has been all sorts of damage, including the many hundreds of acres of crops destroyed by the constant flooding, and the massive problems for farmers.

The River Misbourne in Bucks is normally a small stream. In Amersham it has flooded cellars and back gardens. The picture was taken yeasterday after the water had receded quite a bit.

Any concerns we might have about the sogginess of allotments seem irrelevant.  However it has made me think about issues of food security. I think it is pretty much accepted now that the current situation is likely to be repeated- the relatively rapid global climate change is at last generally considered to be caused by humans- and we will see more dramatic weather events.  I hope we are intelligent enough to be able to globally co-operate in addressing issues and planning for the future, and it starts by getting our own house in order, and supporting one another.   But on the micro-scale of our allotments I have two thoughts- one (self-centerdly!) I'm glad we have an allotment if in the short term veg and fruit prices are likely to rise; and two- are we going to have to adapt our styles of gardening?

Here in East London we are lucky to be protected from our River Lea by a special flood relief channel- without it the allotment would undoubtedly be flooded, and the house not long after.  So we continue to work on the plot- with some good sunshine at the weekend and not at all sodden soil.

Oh, and in the back garden, the tender nasturtiums thrive... climate change?

 

We've moved the strawberries back to the edges of a front bed, to be used soon for potatoes.

We are getting to grips with the back section, which hasn't had too much attention in the first year of our plot
 

 

In the back garden the cyclamen look almost exotic

 

And the primroses in my £1 from the charity shop cage look cheerful in the sun!

But perhaps nicest of all are the snowdrops- here they are en-masse at the Chilterns Crematorium, Amersham- which has lovely wooded, natural grounds