Mutant bushes prompt climate research

We were eating our lunch on the patio today when Iain mentioned how much he thought the shrubs we planted have grown since we planted the borders.

I thought it would be interesting to take a photo so that we could find out exactly how much they'd grown. The results surprised us.

Less than eight weeks separate the two pictures below.

The weird stick-with-leaves on the left was already in the border but had been choked by an overgrown lavender bush. Since we've exposed it to the light it's absolutely exploded, and it's started flowering, too. We have no idea what it is.

But the rampant growth prize has to go to the purple number on the right. It's one we planted ourselves, but we've lost its label so we don't know what it is either. It's earned itself the nickname Audrey II.*

mid February

mid April

We think the rapid rate of plant growth here is probably due to the combination of nutrient-rich volcanic soil, generous rainfall and lots of sunshine.

This thought got me looking up average weather data for here and the UK. I found the following statistics and found them interesting enough to share. I chose Birmingham because it was the nearest city to Burton on Trent (where we used to live) for which I could find data.

	Birmingham UK	Wanganui NZ
Average annual rainfall (mm)	764	870
Average annual sunshine (hours)	1260	2051
Ave. max. temp. (Summer)	20	22
Ave. max. temp. (Winter)	5	14

As you can see from this data, the climate here is warmer, with a milder winter. It's also much sunnier, yet at the same time, significantly wetter. This may seem like a contradiction at first, but we get very few dry, overcast days here. It's either sunny or tipping it down - sometimes both at the same time. Iain and I have a standing joke that a mac and a pair of sunglasses are both essential every time you set foot outside, whatever the time of year. No wonder the plants love it!

Wanganui is one of the drier places in NZ. The highest daily rainfall ever recorded was in Hokitika on the West coast of South Island, which once got 682mm............. IN ONE DAY!!! Where we used to live, in Titirangi, the average annual rainfall is about twice what it is in Wanganui. (As Phil & Sally can testify!)


*Come on, you must have seen 'The Little Shop of Horrors'.