UK weather: Temperatures drop to near FREEZING overnight

It’s been an astonishing heatwave that has left many parts of Britain feeling like Sub-Saharan Africa.

And the UK has now even got the produce to match, after grandfather Baz Haywood, 59, managed to grow a banana in his back garden in Nottingham.

The warehouse worker has seen the fruit grow for the first time after he planted seeds ten years ago, thanks to the consistently hot temperatures and lack of rain.

Green-fingered grandfather Baz Haywood has managed to grow a banana in his back garden

Mr Haywood said: ‘It has gone absolutely mad. I planted seeds ten years ago and now for the first time I’ve got bananas growing. I wondered what it was at first.

‘I had to Google it. To grow something like this in this country is unthinkable – it’s amazing. It’s got to be the weather because I’ve done nothing else different.’

He also has a grape vine and a fig tree that are thriving in the warmth. But while tropical plants have benefited, the heat has hit many of the UK’s native species.

Rachael Hemmings, a community gardener at Meadows Awkright Meadows in the city, which has a polytunnel full of exotic plants including banana trees, said: ‘They love hot and humid conditions as they are from South America.

Mr Haywood has seen the fruit grow for the first time after he planted seeds ten years ago

Mr Haywood has seen the fruit grow for the first time after he planted seeds ten years ago

‘Normally we do not have that length of heat but this year we have. But beetroots and anything that needs heavy watering are failing badly. Anything with broad leaves we have to keep in the shade and it’s impossible to keep wet.

‘For example it’s too hot for runner beans, so we’re going to see a massive shortage of them for the British dinner. We are going to have to change the way we garden.’

Paul Cook, curator of the nearest Royal Horticultural Society garden, Harlow Carr in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said warmer temperatures mean gardeners will have to embrace new plants.

The warehouse worker was delighted with the banana that grew in his garden in Nottingham

The banana hanging off a tree in Nottingham

The warehouse worker was delighted with the banana that grew in his garden in Nottingham

He said: ‘It certainly takes dedication (to grow a banana tree) but when they reach a certain age and if the weather is right they will fruit.

‘But it’s an unusual thing to pick your own bananas in Nottingham – even with global warming it’s not going to be an annual event. He is a very lucky man.

‘This weather is very unusual. We’re in to eight weeks of very little rain and it has come early.

‘It’s at least 10 years since we have had anything like this with continuous temperatures over 25 degrees for a sustained period with no cool point in the day to give the gardeners or plants a break.

While tropical plants have benefited, the heat has hit many of the UK's native species

While tropical plants have benefited, the heat has hit many of the UK’s native species

‘All these unusual plants that are normally just surviving have been flowering this year. We need to be more adventurous with what we grow.

‘If traditional plants are struggling bees and butterflies still need nectar so we should grow plants that are doing well.’

He also confirmed the banana will be edible when ripe, even if it is from an ornamental plant.



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk