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Talkback: Winter Wonderland

Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
in Talkback
Resolution number one for me s not to count your chickens before they are hatched. I was planning to open my garden to one of the clubs I belong to next May but they have decided not to visit members gardens for a bit. Luckily I had invited two other clubs so all my planning has not gone to waste. I do hope the harsh winter means a wonderful display of blossom like we had last spring. It was that sight that made me resolve to share it. Happy New Year everybody.
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  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    re gardening in the snow i live in the peak destrict with the ground frozen i find it hard to see how anyone can garden its -8/ 10 here and has been from 27 nov cheers
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I've just moved in to a new house and have a much-longed-for garden for the first time in my life. I planted some bulbs the week before the snow came. Will they be ok? And like Liz above, our temperatures dropped to -17 some nights so my plants are looking a bit worse for wear. Do I just sit back and see if they 'come round' or do I do something now to help them?
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Newbie, i have just been up my garden, full of trepidation after the hard frosts we have had. There are a few early snowdrops and double primroses. It is too early to say whether there are any casualties but the spring greens and winter kale seem fine and the few broad beans that had been showing above the soil before the snow came. We have another two months of winter to fear for the plants' safety but it makes sense,if you have any cover, to start seeds like spring onions in the near future. Losing plants is not so bad if you can make use of the space and veg. will do this nicely.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I have just returned from a tidying session in the garden as the snow we had before Xmas bent down a lot of my bamboo, and have an armful of booty - a big bunch of forsythia(the buds are showing yellow), cornus alba "Siberica" whose stems are brilliant red, hazelnut catkins(sorry, squirrel but I left you plenty. and best of all a huge red Charles Ross apple which I picked off the tree! So our winter has not been so bad that such goodies are available. And the compost in my green Daleks is searing hot, now I can open the lid to inspect it!! Nature will provide, it seems. Now for a spot of flower arranging before I sink my teeth into that wonderful apple.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Here in South Yorkshire we had it particularly bad - minus 9 to 10, snow deep enough so we had to dig ourselves out of the house, 6 foot hedges bent down to the ground with the weight of snow, greenhouse glass broken under the weight and falling inwards burying the plants, standard fuchias snapped in half. The list goes on!!!
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Yes, the long perdiod of cold and snow has caused a lot of damage, and much of this won't become evident for some time.
    Pots of bulbs on my patio have just been standing cold and wet for too long, and the daffodils have rotted! Drat!

    In other years they have been fine like this, but now I wish I'd moved pots under cover to develop, and only moved them back into position later in March. That's one lesson I've learned the hard way.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    'Must try harder' is my gardening resolution for 2011! I was unable to plant my alium sphaerocephalon bulbs at the appropriate time and fear it's too late now. Also, any ideas for a plant to grow through a sambucus niger which looks lovely in the summer but currently resembles dead sticks (as my tactful son-in-law remarked - acurately I have to admit!)? I garden near Peterborough - is that near you Adam?
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I'm sorry to say that the state of my snowy garden has been the least of my worries during the past few weeks. Just getting out of our street was miraculous, and the day I did try to drive to work, 7 miles away, I was stuck in my car for over 12 hours :-( and never actually got there! But I did manage to make sure the birds were well fed. Thank Goodness for my wellies ... and to think so many of my pals laughed at me ... they now all own a pair ... tho none as nice as my bright red with yellow and white daisies! Most of the snow has now gone and on my brief first inspection nothing looks too bad. Most of my plants survived last winter, and I'm hoping they'll prove to be as tough this year. And one good thing about the freezing temps - my parnips were absolutely delish. Tho the only way I was able to harvest them was by bringing their pot indoors and defrosting over a couple of days, and finally resorting to a few kettles of boiling water!
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Adam, thanks very much for the advice. I shall certainly consider the clematis - can a garden ever have too many?! Do you ever open your garden? It would be fun to have a look around an garden mag editor's garden?
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    As a landscape gardener the weather before christmas played havoc with my work, it ended up being a case of an early finnish to 2010.
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