Climate Witness : Tara Dillard

Tara Dillard12 Sep 2007My name is Tara Dillard. I am 47 years old and I work as a garden designer and horticultural author. I grew up in Nassau Bay, Texas but have lived in the Atlanta, Georgia area since 1982. Gardening and working with plants has been a life-long passion for me. I began working professionally in the field 23 years ago.Change of SeasonsI grew up in a region of Texas with a semi-tropical climate, which meant we basically had one season all year long. One aspect that I love about Georgia, and partly why I moved here, is the distinction between the four seasons. As a gardener I really appreciate all of the changes that each season brings.One of the main changes I have noticed here is that the winters have been much warmer in recent years than in the past. The winter season is not as long as it used to be, and the cold is not as intense. In addition, the drought situation here has been intensifying. When I first came to Atlanta, we had some very cold winters, but it seems as though it’s been getting milder and warmer ever since.As an example of these warmer winter temperatures, early last November I spied a tiny bud by my front door. This was a big deal to me because it was a Shasta daisy (not something that normally comes out during winter). Over the next few weeks it slowly swelled and on Christmas day it opened up. It was beautiful…but very unusual.It is difficult for gardeners when it warms up so early in the year. It was like we had two springs this year. In January, the temperatures soared and this caused the hydrangeas to leaf out very early. This was problematic because we had a late cold spell around Easter. This lead to a great deal of damage to the plants that had leafed out thinking spring had begun—even some of the oaks were in bad shape. Plants can recover from damage like this. The problem is that we are in a drought cycle as well which puts a huge stress on them. Droughts here are part of a natural cycle, but recently they have been intensifying. Combine this with an early bud break followed by a cold spell and recovery for plants is uncertain. All of these factors lead to greater stress on the plants which can then increase the occurrence of disease and insect problems.A Change in Plant SpeciesIn Atlanta we are at the southern range of the Canadian hemlock. I used to use these trees in my planting designs regularly, but I no longer do because they undergo too much stress during the dry, hot summers and will likely die.On the flip side, there are several plant species thriving now which did not necessarily do so in the past. Plants like Todosporum, dwarf Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis species), and gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’) were once considered ‘tender shrubs’, and would usually not make it through a season. Now they appear to be growing well year round. In general, plants do not need to be as hearty in terms of surviving through the winter months anymore.Tough times for Gardeners and LandscapersI think that the biggest impact on my business comes from the water restrictions imposed here in Atlanta. Business dropped off last summer and fall, and this spring I am less busy than normal. It has been quite noticeable across this sector because, overall, the economy has been in an upswing. It is very hard to make a living at gardening alone — it is hard to imagine someone wanting to start out in this profession at this time.For people like me, we are faced not only with the challenges related to global warming and drought, but also to a population of people less in-tune with their environment. People want and expect less and less out of their garden spaces, and there is less of a do-it-yourself mentality. People want decks, patios and outdoor kitchens instead of living gardens. The water restrictions that our region now faces nearly every season also plays a role in this because it makes gardening more difficult.