Cold again

In my last post I said that no particularly cold weather was forecast for a couple of weeks; and, for that period, it stayed mild, but with strong winds.  Then, this past week, we’ve had the cold weather again: overnight temperatures in the region of -4C, and staying low in the daytime, but fortunately with clear skies, sunny days and no rain or snow.  A couple of mornings have been white with frost, and there’s a clear line down the lawn dividing the ‘cold’ side, where the sun doesn’t reach at this time of year, from the side where the grass thaws out by day.  The advice not to walk on frozen grass doesn’t count for much when areas such as the compost corner and the summerhouse (where we store the apples) are at the bottom of the garden. 

It hasn’t been a good time for much gardening.  Some leaf-raking, weeding and cutting back got done in the dry spells before the cold hit, but in recent days time outdoors has been spent filling up birds’ feeders, scattering additional crumbs in suitable corners to provide not only breakfast but also supper for avian visitors, and putting out apples to keep the half-dozen or so blackbirds happy. 

It’s the Big Garden Birdwatch next weekend, and, although there are plenty of birds around, I’m not confident of a wide variety of species coming to be counted.  The regulars are here in quantity, but I haven’t seen a wren for a few weeks, and there have been only occasional sightings of the long-tailed tits (up to eight at a time), chaffinches and great tits.  A woodpecker (greatspot) was here yesterday, and a female bullfinch has been picking over the plum tree for a day or two; but that’s it.

The early snowdrops started appearing just after New Year, but there haven’t been many other opportunities for cutting flowers for the house.  The hellebores (not easy to keep looking good in a vase) have started flowering; they were knocked back a bit by the frost, but are recovering. The first daffodil leaves are pushing through, however, under the plum tree and in the front garden, and in the tubs where the miniature daffs are planted; just before the cold snap I top-dressed them with compost from last year’s tomato pots, which I hope will have protected them from the most recent freeze.

Happy 2023!

 

Happy New Year!

Another ‘warmest ever’ New Year’s Day, with weather that is typical for what we’ve been having since the snow melted: bright sunshine with a chilly wind, until the clouds came over and brought rain and hail.  ‘Unsettled’ is the Met Office’s term for it.  But there’s no forecast for particularly cold weather for a couple of weeks at least.

The cold weather in December has left its mark on the garden.  As I expected, the lettuces (which were starting to bolt anyway) and radicchio had succumbed, and other plants have been held back by the cold.  My New Year’s Day flower count was on the low side.  There were the winter stalwarts – winter honeysuckle, winter jasmine (but very few flowers), various viburnums, Mahonia ‘Winter Sun’ and rosemary.  Apart from those, it was a case of scrumping around for a few flowers on the big hellebore in the front garden, a couple of Vinca major blooms in the front wall, a pair of comfrey flowers in a sheltered spot by the long hedge, a few daisies here and there, some meadow grass and a panicum (fountain grass) head.  In the past there have been some flowers left over from the summer at New Year, but this year all of those are already gone; and the snowdrops are showing white buds but no opened flowers.  I make that 11 flowering plants.  But the garden is only waiting for better weather; the rhubarb ‘Timperley Early’ is already showing promising-looking sprouts.  (Note to self: it needs dividing this year!)

I had worried about the smaller birds’ ability to find food during the cold snap, but a wren has been around, and the family of long-tailed tits (all five of them) have been enthusiastically visiting the fatball container.  Our regulars are coming daily: a flock of sparrows, a couple of dunnocks, at least two robins (one of whom is trying to invade the patio but is being seen off by the resident robin there), some starlings, a few blackbirds, a group of blue tits, a collared dove and various woodpigeons, including Lefty who continues to dominate the patio.  And today a greenfinch came for a drink – something of a rarity these days.

I still haven't planted the tulip bulbs because of the cold weather; a job to be getting on with!