Yarrow, I find it incredible that you have geraniums outside in Edinburgh that have survived 4 winters. I live in Dordogne and it's impossible to leave them outside, they never survive.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Busy-Lizzie - I feed them on haggis and give them the occasional dram. It kind of stuns them into sticking around!
In truth - they've been quite amazing pelargoniums this particular lot. They have survived outside for 4 years and I've never pampered them, fed them or put them under shelter or inside at all. However, I think I will have to pep them up this year and give them some special attention. I have nowhere sheltered to put anything until our builders have removed all their gear to get me access to parts of the garden. I can't get to my tiny greenhouses either. We are -3 degrees today and yesterdays snow remains icy and crunchy out there with melts in the sun turning to ice as it's freezing right away. If I had somewhere to shelter them available to me right now - I would be doing that and also re-potting them in fresh compost. All I've been doing every year is cutting any stems which seemed to have gone a bit soft, taking off the leaves and leaving them. Then in mid-Spring they have always just blossomed into life. I bought them locally four years ago and maybe they were just particularly strong and remained strong to spite my ignorance!
4" of snow here, still falling and drifting in the wind. I'm having to top up th ebird food every couple of hours to keep them going.
Clearly no gardening being done but I do have babies on the window sills - tomatoes, chillies, PSB, Christmas basil, summer savoury, sweet peas, nemesias, hollyhocks, cream aconitum, echinacea alba and lupins. No room to sow anything else until the greenhouse is warm enough.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I have two daffy dogs so coffee tables are not an option for me. However, one of the dog's sleeping cages is under the kitchen window sill and home to several seed trays and I have chilli seeds enjoying gentle bottom heat on a radiator cover.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Down here in Cornwall everything is sprouting and growing. I have window sills full of seedlings as well as the conservatory and all the trees and shrubs outside are breaking buds.
Just in time for the current arctic conditiobns to scorch the new growth. The sun is shining but the wind is seeringly cold.
I put one of my plastic GH's in the kitchen so I could get the seeds away, normally only half of them take for me, but this year oh no every one of them seems to have taken, the problem now is not much room for them when I've pricked them out and it's far to cold to put them in the one outside even though it has a fleece cover on, it's dropping down to below freezing on a night so I'm going to be very ruthless when pricking out
Even the new plants I have "safely" stashed in the garage got so cold last night they have all wilted. -14C last night.
Far too cold in the greenhouse for babies so they're all indoors and the pots we epmptied out last weekend have been stashed in the barn or the garage again till this cold spell finishes.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Icy start to today's gardening with frostbite fingers but then the sun warmed up a bit and it sort of touched on early spring. Put out five bags of rubbish for the bin men tomorrow including three bags of rose prunings from front garden as well as back arch which means my view from the kitchen window will be sans waving wands of climbing rose gone mad, thank Goodness!
I do like order and loath chaos, but I'm still on the winter pruning jobs and haven't begun moving things or sowing seeds yet as the ground is too cold and wet. Garlic looks good on it though whilst my keen eye did spot the pink nose of a sprouting Allium peeking through my borders, which filled me with good cheer.
More to do tomorrow, but its all just tidying stuff up really...nothing close to that wonder filled spring rush we venture into each year as the season takes off. Hold onto your hats when it comes...
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Yarrow, I find it incredible that you have geraniums outside in Edinburgh that have survived 4 winters. I live in Dordogne and it's impossible to leave them outside, they never survive.
Busy-Lizzie - I feed them on haggis and give them the occasional dram. It kind of stuns them into sticking around!
In truth - they've been quite amazing pelargoniums this particular lot. They have survived outside for 4 years and I've never pampered them, fed them or put them under shelter or inside at all. However, I think I will have to pep them up this year and give them some special attention. I have nowhere sheltered to put anything until our builders have removed all their gear to get me access to parts of the garden. I can't get to my tiny greenhouses either. We are -3 degrees today and yesterdays snow remains icy and crunchy out there with melts in the sun turning to ice as it's freezing right away. If I had somewhere to shelter them available to me right now - I would be doing that and also re-potting them in fresh compost. All I've been doing every year is cutting any stems which seemed to have gone a bit soft, taking off the leaves and leaving them. Then in mid-Spring they have always just blossomed into life. I bought them locally four years ago and maybe they were just particularly strong and remained strong to spite my ignorance!
4" of snow here, still falling and drifting in the wind. I'm having to top up th ebird food every couple of hours to keep them going.
Clearly no gardening being done but I do have babies on the window sills - tomatoes, chillies, PSB, Christmas basil, summer savoury, sweet peas, nemesias, hollyhocks, cream aconitum, echinacea alba and lupins. No room to sow anything else until the greenhouse is warm enough.
Obelixx - I think quite a few of us are now running out of windowsills. I have now taken over the coffee table in the conservatory as well!
I have two daffy dogs so coffee tables are not an option for me. However, one of the dog's sleeping cages is under the kitchen window sill and home to several seed trays and I have chilli seeds enjoying gentle bottom heat on a radiator cover.
Down here in Cornwall everything is sprouting and growing. I have window sills full of seedlings as well as the conservatory and all the trees and shrubs outside are breaking buds.
Just in time for the current arctic conditiobns to scorch the new growth. The sun is shining but the wind is seeringly cold.
I put one of my plastic GH's in the kitchen so I could get the seeds away, normally only half of them take for me, but this year oh no every one of them seems to have taken, the problem now is not much room for them when I've pricked them out and it's far to cold to put them in the one outside even though it has a fleece cover on, it's dropping down to below freezing on a night so I'm going to be very ruthless when pricking out
My garden today - http://s211.beta.photobucket.com/user/Obelixx_be/library/#/user/Obelixx_be/library/?&_suid=1363180705658010418952465097836
Even the new plants I have "safely" stashed in the garage got so cold last night they have all wilted. -14C last night.
Far too cold in the greenhouse for babies so they're all indoors and the pots we epmptied out last weekend have been stashed in the barn or the garage again till this cold spell finishes.
Icy start to today's gardening with frostbite fingers but then the sun warmed up a bit and it sort of touched on early spring. Put out five bags of rubbish for the bin men tomorrow including three bags of rose prunings from front garden as well as back arch which means my view from the kitchen window will be sans waving wands of climbing rose gone mad, thank Goodness!
I do like order and loath chaos, but I'm still on the winter pruning jobs and haven't begun moving things or sowing seeds yet as the ground is too cold and wet. Garlic looks good on it though whilst my keen eye did spot the pink nose of a sprouting Allium peeking through my borders, which filled me with good cheer.
More to do tomorrow, but its all just tidying stuff up really...nothing close to that wonder filled spring rush we venture into each year as the season takes off. Hold onto your hats when it comes...
Lovely dogs I see by the way