THURSDAY, FEB. 7,2109 | EDITOR NATHAN DUREC

4 THE VOICE |

Stories and

photos by

Austin
Everett

Thomas Hobhbs's personal collection of plants starts to bloom indoors in the greenhouse of Southlands Nursery. Hobbs
puts his over 30 years of experience into his collection.

Flowers are already blooming in Vancouver. Both growers and gardeners are being forced to adapt to a more erratic
beginning to the growing season.

Decorative planters hang from the ceiling in Southlands Nursery. They are unique option

Crazy climate |

Going forward, gardeners must at

ocal plant nurseries and

gardeners are having to adapt

to extreme temperature fluc-

tuations and earlier springs due
to climate change.

Thomas Hobbs, owner of one of the
few remaining nurseries in Vancou-
ver, said that in his experience of over
30 years, he has noticed a difference in
temperatures. It has changed the way his
business is run. Previously in January, the
nursery used to be closed, but now it’s
open and in full bloom.

“We've had to expand our staff, and all
the expenses that go with being open. We
have the full availability [to make sure]
everything looks yummy,” Hobbs said.

Spring hasn't always come this early.
Past years have shown that while the
average temperature is going up and
precipitation is going down, winter can
still hang on with spring arriving later or

barely at all.

Environment Canada has estimated
that between 2010 and 2039, 16 per cent
of inhabited regions in B.C. will have at
least 170 days as a growing season. This
is a nine per cent spike from before 2000.

Liz Ehebald, a Langara nursing
student who has lived in Vancouver all
her life and has enjoyed gardening in her
backyard, said her roses and rhododen-
drons are terribly confused and will likely
not bloom this year.

“T have definitely seen some [plants]
coming out of nowhere, which is confus-
ing,” she said.

While early springs do give way to new
growth in January, this can be extremely
detrimental to the plants themselves.
February can surprise with wind chills
and even snow. With the snow that fell
last weekend, Hobbs said his flowers are
in danger.