Misguided Roses

Or, more correctly, here's a little bit of local evidence of how the climate is changing. When I went out this morning intending to prune my roses I found this happening.

This is only a sample of the new growth - some of it is looking a little sad because I have just removed a ravenous infestation of aphids - and given we are now a month into winter here and at the start of what is usually the coldest and wettest month of the year when the roses should have already have shed their leaves, this is ridiculous.

And so is this.

I actually picked enough roses for a vaseful and, as you can see from just this one plant, I could have picked many more.

This is not what we expect for this time of the year but I suspect it's going to be our new norm. So far this winter we've only had half our average rainfall for the period and, while we will no doubt get some more, we seem to be heading for a warm and relatively dry winter. I've already had to hand water my vegetable garden a couple of times and the fine drizzle which is currently happening seems unlikely to do much to help.

The truth is the climate here has changed quite dramatically here over the last ten to twenty years with less rain in the traditional winter months. This means the dams which we have relied on for drinking water have not been replenished and we are now heavily reliant on ground water - which is also under stress - and desalinisation.

Welcome to the world of climate change.