Garden

Arrested Development

Sunil91.8K views

It’s slow gardening month and I’m somewhat grateful. The weather has turned particularly cold this week throughout the UK and we’ve had snow that’s actually settled. Some places have had it much heavier than we have, but the freezing temperatures will have come as a bit of a shock to the daffodils and snowdrops that emerged early and thought they could get away with it.

I am actually starting to get itchy fingers and do want to be outside doing something, but I’m not sure what – especially when the ground is sodden and it’s so cold. From having gardened frantically over the last year to suddenly being unable to doing anything is somewhat unnerving; I would class it gardening withdrawal symptoms. There is still February to get though and while I’ve been momentarily disturbed from my winter hibernation by the excitement of seeing the first of the spring bulbs emerging, it’ll be best if I just turn over, go back to sleep and dream of summer borders.

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9 comments

gardeninacity 16/01/2013 - 3:33 am
The daffs should be ok I think until they form flower buds.The snowdrops are very hardy. I find a good thing to do on a winter day is to prune the woody plants.
Sunil 19/01/2013 - 10:36 am
Hi Jason - prune woody plants - thanks, that's a good tip, although I don't think I have any that want pruning but I'll keep that in mind for the future.
Alistair 16/01/2013 - 1:59 pm
Carry on dreaming Sunil, mind you it wont be so very long before its full steam ahead. All the blogs which I visit are through blotanical. I thought I already had you on my list, done it now.
Sunil 19/01/2013 - 10:39 am
Hi Alistair, thanks for putting me on your list. I've already got a couple of jobs lined up such as pressure-washing and re-gravelling that I want to get done before Spring gets fully underway.
Susan Maclean 16/01/2013 - 11:09 pm
light flurry of snow down here in Dorset (but being near the coast means its usually a bit warmer)...... but having looked round I can see no sign so far of any dafs, and I think squirrels ate my big patch of snowdrops as they are just not there..... Have not been able to plant any bulbs for later this year (should have gone in in November) as it has been so wet they would have rotted. If this cold spell lasts, I will bung them in as soon as the soil warms up a bit, giving me a chance to dig in the softened soil.....otherwise, no summer bulbs. Ah well, the ceanothus is in bud and the frost may not get it, and the daphne bodens gave me a wonderful pink show this year.
Sunil 19/01/2013 - 10:43 am
Hi Mrs Mac, I think you might have received quite a bit more now. We've escaped pretty well and don't have much snow but the bitter east winds are due to start blowing here and that's when we loose plants like Bay and ceanothus. I've got many bulbs in the soil, especially alliums and lilies and I'm not sure whether they're surviving or rotting in the ground because it's been so wet. I won't be able to tell for some months yet!
Jean 18/01/2013 - 2:35 am
I get plenty of opportunity to be outdoors at this time of year -- but not, strictly speaking, in the garden. Today I spent about two hours taking advantage of the sunshine to shovel snow and haul in wood for the woodstove that is my primary source of heat.
Sunil 19/01/2013 - 10:51 am
Hi Jean, that sounds like far too much hard work in the cold, at least it was sunny - which changes everything - here it's just dull and grey and not at all conducive to getting out and about.
Mark and Gaz 23/01/2013 - 1:15 pm
I love getting out into the garden even if its cold, but snow does seem to stop things. Hopefully it will clear over the weekend so we can get back outside and get our big project finished.
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