In emails received from many parts of the country, I’m hearing gardeners say the same thing: This year has been really hard. Count me in on those voicing that sentiment. 

Gardeners know first-hand that climate change isn’t something in the future, but something right here, every day, right now. So I was fascinated to start reading about the Climate Change Demonstration Garden at the Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca, New York, where since 2014 the team has been looking at the impacts of a shifting climate on gardens. What they’ve learned so far can help us prepare. 

Sonja Skelly is Director of Education for the Cornell Botanic Gardens and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture. She gave me a virtual tour of the Climate Change Demonstration Garden, and we discussed how to make own gardens more resilient in the face of a shifting landscape. 

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