‘Rising temperatures are changing how I work’

A topiary artist with 15 years’ experience has said climate change and unpredictable seasons have forced him to change the way he works.

Andy Bourke, whose business is based in Rutland, told the BBC the arrival of warmer weather earlier in the year had confused plants into thinking summer had started.

The Met Office said summer 2025 was the hottest on record and followed the warmest and sunniest spring since data began.

“Climate change is definitely affecting what we do and nature doesn’t know what time of the month it is,” said Mr Bourke.

“Too much water is just as bad as not getting enough.”

The 38-year-old would normally plan his work for the year ahead meticulously, but the prolonged hot weather – which led to a drought being declared in the East Midlands – and heavy rainfall means he now has to take things day by day.

“We don’t tend to work now by the month of the year, it’s just by the temperature,” he explained.

“We can have these late frosts like we had at the start of last year or we can have these really long dry spells and very wet winters.”

Trimming trees for a regular client at Cressey Hall in Lincolnshire, which were planted and trained by the previous owner, Mr Bourke said the weather was “not as reliable as it used to be”.

“Everyone used to say that you would cut your box plants on Derby Day [which takes place at the beginning of June] but now we can cut earlier or even later depending on what that weather is doing,” he added.

BBC weather presenter Anna Church described 2025 as “a year to remember”.

She said: “It started fairly average but through the spring and summer very little rainfall led to drought conditions being declared in the East Midlands and the summer was the warmest on record.

“But it almost felt like it changed overnight as we moved into September with the arrival of some very heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

“We now know that extreme weather events, like prolonged heat, extensive dry spells and intense rainfall are becoming more common due to effects of climate change.”

Mr Bourke worked as a chef before transferring his creative skills and eye for detail into the horticultural world – a career change inspired by memories of seeing designs of topiary at a Disney resort as a child.

“Over there they have a lot of topiary made up of different plants and flowers of the characters and I just remember that capturing my imagination,” he said.

Mr Bourke now uses social media to showcase his work and has built up more than 150,000 followers on Instagram.

“I get a lot of people ask questions to do with pests and disease… and I’m more than happy to help where I can because it’s not always straight forward,” he said.

“If you’re on your own a lot, it can get a bit lonely and a lot of people turn to social media or group chats where they can connect with like-minded people.”