Nick Maclaren wrote:
I don't believe most of the nonsense written about this. This year
has been a disaster, and I don't think that it will be unusual.

From your title I wondered if it was an international campaign to
eliminate intestinal parasites.

I lost a lot (including Salvia viridis and other labiates) due to
the 6 months of cold and wet. And it took forever to warm up
enough for the exotics to start.

I have lost quite a few tender convolvulus and suffered cold damage on
other tender South African plants grown outside as annuals. The datura
is well on but languished in the cooler weather recently, and H.
petiolaris is nearly 3 weeks late flowering. Strangley the Nashi pear
which I assumed might be tender has a record crop ths year. Plums
looking good too.

My Passiflora incarnata didn't break surface until June, and my
Erythrina crista-galli until a fortnight later. Vegetables planted
out failed to grow, and that happened even to ones I started indoors.

The tough ones are OK. But even spuds have suffered frost damage in
late May!

A huge number of the things that the press claim we will be able to
grow don't mind frost, but DO demand a decent summer. At present
it is warm, but the nights are already closing in.

That is going to be a problem. We will still have short summers due to
our latitude and global warming will not alter that at all. Also global
warming is an average - some places may end up cooler (as we may well
do if or rather when the north Atlanic conveyor stalls).

Regards,
Martin Brown