Why your garden in France may look unusually ‘yellow’

Have you noticed your garden in France has a noticeably yellow hue at the moment? Or that public squares, gardens, meadows and fields and the usual ‘greenery’ seems more dried out? 

You are not imagining it. 

High temperatures and drought conditions mean that France’s vegetation has entered an ‘early summer,’ according to one expert. 

During the summer period, plants experience a ‘dormancy’ and enter a period of rest focused on survival, because to thrive in these conditions would require too much energy, said agroclimatologist Serge Zaka to media outlet Actu. 

Changes to this effect include plants producing less chlorophyll – the matter that turns them green – leading them to look yellow or brown, as well as discarding some leaves to reduce water consumption, which wilt and turn yellow before falling off. 

This period lasts until roughly the start of autumn when temperatures drop and rains return, providing plants with a burst of excess energy.

Dormancy period arrives early 

This is a natural process, however it usually happens at the peak of summer and not in June. 

“In concrete terms, we are two to three weeks ahead of the average arrival of summer,” said Dr Zaka. 

This has led not only to a ‘yellowing’ of the landscape, but also required early harvesting of certain crops to protect them, which itself can further alter France’s countryside and make it look less green. 

“What we are seeing this year in certain regions, particularly north-west France, is that some grasses, including barley, have been harvested very early… In general, all farmers in the north-west say that harvest dates are getting earlier and earlier,” Mr Zaka added. 

Lawns early indicator of hot and dry summer 

As mentioned, it is not only farmers but also homeowners who will have spotted the yellowing, as grass is among the first of the plants to lose its colour.

Alongside the above reasons, this often happens due to a lack of water in the soil that lawns feed from. 

“The lawn is the first to react in the event of drought: by turning yellow, it tells us that there is less water in the soil,” Mr Zaka said. 

“It is therefore the first indicator for other plant species – including trees, market gardens and crops – which will suffer from heat and drought-related problems,” 

The early dormancy of plants therefore indicates a hot and dry summer is on its way, as well as a potentially drought-laden one. 

Fears that it will cause lasting damage to lawns or plants can be nipped in the bud, however. 

“Although yellowing is not a very good sign, the lawn is very resilient… Once the summer season is over, it will regain its colour in autumn,” Mr Zaka said.