A Simple Life of Luxury

So much for my wind resistant plants!!

Wind Damaged Polygonum

All had been going well and the new pergola was looking lovely with a very luxurious growth of Polygonum and Solanum that I had planted in June. In fact we had been surprised by the growth which was of course due in part by the warm, wet and windless summer that we’ve had. I never said that these plants would be particularly wind resistant so this was always going to be an experiment, but we’ve had some wind this week and the results are now in.

The Solanum has held up well, as has the Honeysuckle (although this hasn’t grown much yet) but the Polygonum is most definitely not a very wind resistant plant! Within hours of the wind getting to full force here (which is of course a very windy place) it was reduced to a sorry looking wind burnt tangle of stems with no leaves at all. The luxurious green growth that had enveloped the side and top of the pergola is no more… The wind was gusting to 40 knots or more according to the weather station in the back garden, but I think it is back to the drawing board as far as the Polygonum is concerned.

I had a nice mountain-bike ride last night, despite the fact that there were frequent torrential hailstorms. It was pretty cold up in the hills and the rain held off for most of the ride but the puddles were deep and the river crossings cold.

It did however give me chance to try out my new Goretex cycling shoes and the worked well. Coupled with a pair of waterproof Sealskinz socks and my waterproof cycling trousers I felt ready for anything the welsh weather could throw at me. It seemed to work. Despite being completely immersed in water up to my knees now and then I finished the ride with perfectly dry, and more importantly, nice warm feet.

It is definitely worth having the right gear as it makes things so much more comfortable and therefore more enjoyable. As i’ve heard said before… “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes!”.

Looking forward to some nice wintry rides now… And maybe some waterproof gloves!

It has taken a while but it seems that summer has finally arrived and we made the most of it this weekend.

Blackberry picking and mountain-biking in Artists Valley on Saturday, followed by a quick wash in the river.

Then an early morning mountain-bike ride at Nant-yr-Arian on Sunday. Early enough to watch the sunrise from the top of the hill, followed by a rare chance for a little adventure in our inflatable canoe. We didn’t go anywhere too exctiting and Morgan fell asleep on the journey. We did see quite a few dolphins before we set off but they had gone by the time we were on the water

Looking at the forecast it looks set to stay fairly summery for a while too… An Indian summer at last maybe? Could be, but there are some fairly distinct rules for what constitutes an Indian Summer.

An Indian Summer is characterised by a period of unusually warm summery weather in autumn. It can persist for a few days or extend to a week or more during September, October or November (in the Northern hemisphere).

The official definition is a period of seven days or more occurring after the autumnal equinox where the temperature reaches 21°C (70°F) or more. In some places it can only be considered an ‘Indian Summer’ if a ground frost has occurred before the period of warmer weather… Not quite an official Indian summer here yet then but now that the autumnal equinox has passed it is a possibility. The weather station has only recorded a Maximum Temperature of 18.3ºC so far today so we only need a few more degrees to get us off to the beginnings of an Indian Summer. No doubt that has been achieved inland already.

When you think of the problems affecting coastal gardens the first issue that springs to mind is the wind. Living on the coast means that there is an uninterrupted flow of wind from the sea straight into your garden and the affects can be dramatic.

Very few people live right on the coast and it only takes a few obstacles such as trees, buildings or small hills to provide some protection. However, we do live on the coast and there is nothing between us and the beach so we experience the full force of the winds. You only have to go inland a little way to see how things change with a little bit of protection. Gardens just a short distance away are awash with colour and have a wide variety of plants and flowers thriving in them. Things aren’t quite so rosy in most gardens here.

Very little shelter from a cold North wind

I’ve worked for many years helping people out in their gardens and almost everyone seems to think their garden is exposed and windy, but until you’ve experienced living right on the coast you can’t understand the meaning of a truly exposed and windy garden. It isn’t just the strength of the wind but the incessant nature of it. We have a weather station in the garden that uploads live data to the internet every minute and it shows just how much wind we get. Whereas most people start thinking things are getting windy when the anemometer reaches around force 4-5 it is rare for us to ever have a day where it doesn’t reach this and more often than not it is much windier. Worse still, it just doesn’t stop blowing. We often get weeks on end where the wind just doesn’t drop.

Sounds bad? Well it gets worse. Most coastal gardens are affected to a greater or lesser degree by winds coming in off the sea. For people living on the west coast such as us this means that the prevailing wind is from the west so at least there should be a respite from the wind if it swings around and comes from another direction. Not so here. In fact, we have a special katabatic wind (known affectionately as Ivor) that funnels down through the Dovey Valley and blasts us with cold, dry winds from the East. This wind is stronger and just as persistant as winds off the sea and means that there isn’t a wind direction that doesn’t affect us. There is no getting away from the fact that this really is a windy place (which is why, as a windsurfer I wanted to live here).

Effects of the wind

The effects of big storms on your garden are easy to see. Broken plants, snapped branches, uprooted trees, overturned containers, broken panes in the greenhouse and such like. Lesser winds also have an effect, drying out plants and creating wind burn, the visual effects of which are burnt leaves and blackened stems. It can impede plant growth, stops young seedlings in their tracks, severely stunts trees and shrubs, and forms dramatic windswept shapes to larger trees. Many plants simply can’t cope with the extreme winds we experience here.

What can be done?

The obvious thing to do in order to protect from the wind is to create a shelter belt. Few of us have room for a full-on shelter belt consisting of a thick plantation of wind resistant trees, but just a single row of such plants can help create some shelter. Every little bit helps and as the number of plants you have in the garden increases you can produce your own little micro-climate in which the less wind-resistant plants can survive. Of course, you don’t want to go over the top otherwise your garden will soon feel over-shadowed and too enclosed. Another option is to build small banks that help protect from the wind. Again this may take up a little too much room in a small garden.

Fences and other garden structures can also be used to good effect to provide shelter. Open structures are better than solid ones as they dissipate the wind rather than deflect it. When wind hits a solid barrier such as a brick wall or panel fence it tends to deflect upwards only to descend with greater turbulence on the other side. Where possible several lines of defense are best. For instance an open fence with wind resistant hedging behind it.

The other thing is to choose your plants carefully and pick those that are more resistant to winds.

Wind Resistant Plants

Trees that will put up with the worst wind conditions and ones traditionally used in coastal shelter belts, include pines such as Pinus nigra, P. pinaster and the Scots pine (P. sylvestris). We have pines here and although they survive they are prone to wind burn and tend to be very lop-sided. It is also difficult to get them to grow straight as they tend to adopt the typical windswept look of a coastal tree.

Willow and White Poplar (Populus alba) also do well here. The willow grows well, but can look a little untidy once windburnt and can become a little too invasive. The Poplar again does well but the new growth is easily damaged by summer winds. If both are kept under control with some hard pruning though they do offer good protection from the wind. The willow has little ornamental appeal but the leaves of the Poplar are fairly attractive. Both are deciduous though so don’t offer much in the way of protection or decoration in the winter.

Cordylines such as Cordyline australis (Autralian or Manx Cabbage tree) fare well and add a tropical touch

When it comes to shrubs, Escallonia is the obvious choice for creating shelter, but it is a little common around here. Even this gets pretty badly windburnt and despite its pretty pink flowers in the summer can look a little ugly in the winter. The evergreen Griselina littoralis, with its glossy, lime-green leaves is a good choice. I’m also having success with Olearia sp. (Daisy Bush) which does well, but again can look a little worse for wear due to windburn in the winter.

Other shrubs that are doing well in the wind although not creating much in the way of shelter are various Hebes and a lovely Golden Elder (Sambucus nigra).

As well as creating shelter from the wind it is also worthwhile making the most of it and planting grasses and bamboos that not only tolerate the wind but are at their best when being whipped about by it. The movement and sounds created by these plants can bring the garden alive. We have a large pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) that is doing well and adds just such life to the garden. As with many things that do well though it can become a little too large and needs to be kept under control. Stipa sp. and Miscanthus sp. are also likely to relish such conditions although I’ve yet to try them.

It takes time for smaller plants to grow large enough to provide suitable shelter so progress is slow but the results make it worthwhile. For those with deeper pockets then larger plants can be bought to speed up the process and more use could be made of the faster growing varieties. The willow and Poplar are particularly fast growing.

As you can see, the wind can be a problem for coastal gardens but with some careful planning it is possible to both limit its effects and work with it. As our garden matures hopefully it will become less of an issue. The addition of various tress and shrubs to create shelter has helped already and structures such as a pergola with some climbing plants is helping too. We’re now able to grow some less wind-resistant plants in the lee of these.

White Poplar and Golden Elder providing some summer shelter

Variegated Hebe providing all year interest

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This article is part of a series on Extreme Coastal Gardening

We’ve just got back from a nice weekend away visiting family in the South West. We went this weekend as there was a windsurf demo day at Axbridge Reservoir. Although this isn’t the sort of place I would normally windsurf my brother moors his boat there so we though it would be nice to meet him there and play on his boat too.

As it happens there was very little wind. There was just enough for jays boat though so after he had a quick sail in it I jumped in with Morgan and went for a little sail too. I hadn’t been in a sailing boat for years and even then had only sailed one once or twice, but I soon worked it all out and did manage to sail out, backwards and forwards a few times and then sail back to where I started from all without getting me or Morgan wet!

We then sat in the sun watching people on Stand Up Paddle boards playing around and a few people just about get planing on windsurf boards. It’s a shame there wasn’t more wind so that I could have gone windsurfing but it was a actually nice just sitting in the sun chilling whilst Morgan played in the water with Harry.

Certainly a nice way to spend a relaxing morning.

Phew, I’ve just climbed down from the telegraph pole after repairing the Borth and Ynyslas Weather Station. A few days ago the humidity sensor failed and was produing a 100% humidity reading despite the fact that this obviously wasn’t the case.

A qucik e-mail to McMurdo who are the UK distributors of Davis Instruments weather stations and the fault was diagnosed and a fix initiated. This was the 3rd temperature and humidity sensor to have failed and the new, upgraded digital versions wouldn’t work with the SIM (Sensor Interface Module) that I had. The answer therefore was to upgrade the SIM board to the new version so that I could also upgrade to the digital humidity sensor.

The parts arrived this morning and I’ve now changed them all over and everything seems (fingers crossed) to be back up and running and providing accurate weather data once again. It meant changin quite a bit of the guts of the station, all that is left of the original now is the rain gauge, anemometer cups and the solar panel. It’s now on its 4th temperature and humidity sensor and 3rd SIM board… The joys of running a live weather station!

As usual McMurdo were really helpful and helped me get the weather station back up and running in no time.

It’s been a record breaking week as far as the Borth and Ynyslas weather station goes this week. We have recorded both the deepest low pressure with a pressure reading of 953.9mb on March 1oth and the windiest day with a maximum gust of 62.2 knots at 1.42am this morning… Both records since the weather station began recording in 2005.

Thankfully, other than a few bins and bits of garden furniture being blown all over the place we have escaped any damage from the winds. Mind you, visiting the portaloo at 3am this morning was an adventure in itself!

Along with the rest of the country we have been enjoying some gorgeous spring weather recently. Clear blue skies all day long and some of the most amazing sunsets and sunrises with spectacular oranges, pinks and purples. It has been quite cold too, especially at night which leads to a local phenomenon of a katabatic wind, affectionately known as Ivor here in Ynyslas and Borth.

It works in a similar fashion to a sea-breeze in the summer, but in the opposite direction and with more force. At night the temperatures in the hills can drop significantly, often reaching minus numbers and maybe even down to minus 8-10ºC. The sea however remains at a fairly constant temperature and is currently around 9ºC. That is a huge temperature difference. The sea warms the air above it which then rises, and cooler air from inland moves in to take its place, creating an offshore wind. As the sun rises in the mornings, it rays reflect off the surface of the sea further raising the temperature of the air above it which drives the wind even faster. This is the exact opposite to the summer sea-breeze effect, but the larger temperature difference increases the effect making the winds stronger.

On top of this, Ivor, the katabatic wind has gravity on its side (unlike the sea-breezes in the summer). The cold air in the hills sinks into the valleys and flows along them just like a river would. Gravity, coupled with topographic funneling in association with winds driven by a temperature gradient can produce some pretty startling effects here, with winds in excess of 20 knots when everywhere else is calm. If this also occurs on a day when there is a general E-NE wind direction then we often gets winds in the 30-40 knot range. More than enough for most people and perfect for those of us who windsurf and Kitesurf.

So much for the forecast of 20cm of snow, we haven’t even had a flurry yet… Lets hope we get some tonight as Brad is coming to visit and is bringing his snowboard with him!

I didn’t sit around waiting for the snow though, I went for a little run around the block and then a nice windsurf despite the cold temperatures. Funnily enough no one else was out so I had the place to myself. I didn’t stay out long though, not because of the cold but because I had taken too big a sail over to the beach with me so was a little overpowered. It wasn’t as windy as yesterday when the Borth weather station recorded a maximum gut of 54.5 knots… Yes, I was out windsurfing yesterday as well!

Brad is bringing his mountain bike with him, so even if we don’t get any snow (I’m not expecting much) then we shall have a day in the hills whatever.

The Borth and Ynyslas Weather Station is now back online again.

We had some problems with it in December. First the temperature and humidity sensor stopped functioning properly. A replacement was ordered, but when installed it fried the main SIM board within the sensor suite and everything stopped working properly. I have since got a brand new SIM board and a new temperature and humidity sensor and spent yesterday morning up the telegraph pole installing the new components and getting everything working.

Once the new SIM board was successfully talking to the console I powered up the PC and got it doing its thing, manipulating the raw data and uploading it very minute to the live online display. The data logger still had a few rogue readings stored in it so I had to manually remove some of these data points but it all seems fine now and the live data is once again available online.