It won't stop raining – so I am weatherproofing my garden

Protecting the plot from extreme weather is one of the main challenges gardeners face today. Kim Stoddart makes a start

The other day when I meant to do some gardening but it was raining so hard (again) that I didn't, Bob Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin' popped into my head. It's been my earworm ever since. Dylan may have been singing about change of a different kind, but the first verse especially is so very relevant to the drenching we've had these past weeks. Have a listen.

So when the rain finally eases and eventually the overly saturated ground recovers, I will not forget how bad it has been. We've been lucky in so far as it's just the garden that's taken a battering, but you know things are changing when the Environment Agency talks about "unknown weather extremes" of the future. Unless you happen to be too busy holidaying in Barbados, it's time to take a fresh look at how we do things. Our gardening practices also need to be adapted, to become more resilient in the face of climate change.