Do any of you grow anything that maybe wasn't grown here (Uk) 20 or 30 years ago?

[MickyMacgraw]

I ask because a little while ago I heard of Bananas, Mangoes and other exotic fruits and veg being grown here and I was wondering whether this is due to the weather or maybe a movement forward with fertilizers or Hydroponic systems?

[Prudie]

I have 2 grapevines that grow outside all year and produce loads of bunches of small sweet edible grpaes. Not sue if that was heard of 30 years ago.

[MickyMacgraw]

So what has changed prudie?

[welshlibranr]

We have a grape vine growing along our garden fence, we never protect it in Winter, but every year we too get lots of bunches of small sweet grapes, must admit that the birds seem to enjoy far more of them than we do!.................

[MickyMacgraw]

Has the genes in these Grapevines and other fruits maybe have been modified with to withstand winter?

[askyourgran]

The Victorians had huge glasshouses to grow exotic fruit for the manor houses, peaches apricots etc. I don't have a greenhouse I'm not that much into gardening nowadays (we have a gardener), but my father and now my brother grows grapes and cucumbers, peppers and I think avocados in their greenhouse.

[boxtops]

in our garden here in Dover, we grow bamboo, oleanders, a kiwi plant - all unheard of as garden plants in the UK until fairly recently. They all survived the stiff winter last winter - I think we are more adventurous but stock is hardy too. We were warned that the kiwi and oleander should come in during the winter - no room so we take our chances. The kiwi has a bit of bubble wrap on, but I have propagated from my original oleander and they are all out in the garden all winter.

[Prudie]

I'm not really sure about the grapes, obvious answer would be global warming(??) but I'm sure no-one ever thought of growing grapes outdoors when I was a child. Maybe it's improved and hardier varieties.

[MickyMacgraw]

What are the sizes and quality like of the various foods and veg you all grow? Im guessing they are not as good juicy or sweet as their imported cousins due to the sunlight factor or can they compete?

[welshlibranr]

Possibly Micky, I suppose the plants may have just hardened off over time, I believe that the one on our fence was originally inside a glasshouse before we moved here....

[paddywak]

I don't know if they're common or how long they've been grown in this country but we've had a nectarine for about 6yrs. Last year we had a very poor crop as I moved it from a container to direct in the garden and we only got half a dozen fruit but we have had as many as 60. The variety is Lord Napier and the fruit is nice and sweet

[MickyMacgraw]

Very interesting, thanks for your answers.

[agardner09]

My father was a genuine trained gardener as in Victorian Kitchen Garden. When I was young I was treated to a wide range of fruit and veg including the aforementioned grapes peaches, nectarines, figs,asparagus,mushrooms and many more. In that sense nothing has changed but make no mistake the owners of such gardens were very wealthy people who were quite willing to employ lots of full time gardeners who devoted their lives to producing such treats so that the owners might have the cache' of seeing such treats on their dining tables especially when they had guests to praise them. I am sure that modern techniques such as heated polytunnels and powerful lighting could now replicate that but at what cost.Also if you checked the long term trends in our weather I am sure you would find large variations that would allow exotic plants from time to time maybe years but I suspect our weather would eventually catch you out.

[woofgang]

I have a book about gardening written in the 1940's and even then the author is saying that gardeners are discovering that plants thought to be too tender to grow outdoors are flourishing

[nonomaybe]

As an experiment, I planted a Thornless loganberry up here (63degs.N) 40 years ago. It gets through the Winters fine and grows with great vigour but the fruits never gets beyond the rock hard, green stage.I wonder if it will ever adapt.