Why to garden even if it's always raining

After a wet summer, you could be forgiven for thinking that it's hardly worth gardening. But even if it wasn't great for humans, it has been great for many plants. Trees and leafy plants love the wet, and if there is a niggling concern that climate change is going to have to change the way we garden, it's a very valid one. The big lesson that we all need to learn is that we need gardens and green spaces more than ever. On a local level, plants absorb water, slow down wind and grow in places which are permeable. Hard or paved surfaces, on the other hand, push water unnaturally fast into rivers and streams, causing the type of flooding we have seen all over the country. Plants also form the food and habitat for wildlife, and also form the basis of our own diets. If those of us with space had a fruit tree, a patch or raspberries of a drill of potatoes, we would be eating more healthily, keeping vehicles off the road and, most importantly, taking a step towards self-sufficiency.