Wordless Wednesday. Spring: the new winter.

Spring Unsprung

First official day of spring 2013. And there's more forecast for tomorrow and next week.  What a great choice to decide to start growing flowers for April.  I read an article from the Guardian which discussed the stop start nature of spring's springing this year and it suggested that when growth finally begins, it could be spectacular and everything will burst into life at once.

Here's hoping.

Wordless Wednesday. Wishing and waiting.

Snow gardening

Sometimes you are given gifts which you like, but are not sure you will ever find a use for.  Such was my feeling when I was handed a pair of furry boot toppers by my mother-in-law at Christmas.  Any doubts about their usefulness have now been banished and they have proved effective snow excluders atop my walking boots for the past week.  Very useful for sledging and snow digging.

Armed with my spade and sweeping brush, I have just come in from clearing snow from shrubs - just as well I know my garden like the back of my hand so I can identify the lumpy forms of baby ones hidden in the thick snow.  My hydrangea heads have stood well through the winter, but this morning resembled heavy white footballs and threatened imminent snappage to their meagre branches. As I pinged the snow off, you could almost hear the plant sigh with relief as it boinged back into a more upright position.

As for the cold frame, it has taken on a whole new meaning:

It looks more like a cool box for a massive party than a nurturing place for plants.  However, hollyhocks, ammi majus and sweet peas still lurk comfortably within.  I know because I cleared the snow off the top and checked up on them.  I suppose the snow provides insulation against the cold and protects them slightly. I'm so impressed by the durability of these little annuals though, I think they deserve pride of place in the garden come March - maybe I should make a 'snow heroes' border?  I don't think any of their outdoor-sown contemporaries will emerge to keep them company. Indeed, as far as I can see, outdoor September sowings were a complete washout.  This year I'm tempted to stick to autumn sowing only under cover, or perhaps I should experiment with sowing earlier in September than I did in 2012.  Mind you, last year was such a growing disaster that I probably shouldn't use it as a yardstick for judging the efficacy of sowing times.

Snow jobs for now

Clear the glass of the greenhouse and the cold frame to allow more of winter's limited light to penetrate - do your plants a favour and get sweeping (or digging, depending on how much snowfall you got!).

Unburden your shrubs and woody plants, like rosemary and lavender, of snow to stop the branches snapping.

Make hot chocolate with marshmallows as a reward to yourself.

Wordless Wednesday - buried

Sprout alert

This is not a post-Sunday lunch warning, merely an update on what's happening in my boiler cupboard for the 52 week salad challenge.


Three days into my mung bean growing foray and things are already looking positive.

I look forward to tucking into them in a few days time - great to get that nice crispy/crunchy/fresh flavour at this time of year.

Meanwhile, have just dug out the car to go to the supermarket to stock up on the hazardous (but also tasty) brussel variety of sprouts to go with all the hearty wintery stews etc we will no doubt be consuming over the coming days.  

Dared to peek into my snow-shaded greenhouse this morning. I lifted the horticultural fleece covering my annual seedlings with trepidation after a week of temperatures hovering around freezing or below but was delighted to see that they are still defiantly with me. I just hope they can continue to resist the arctic conditions until the milder weather which we've been promised from next weekend.

Now I'm going to venture outside and brush the snow off my lavender so it doesn't get entirely bent out of shape, and also off the viburnum bush.  A gentle shake will help the plants to maintain their shape rather than getting snapped by the weight of the white stuff.  I, however, will probably end up looking like my snowman by the time I'm finished with this task.