It has been such a mild winter here in Fife and my garden does seem to have more colour in it than usual for this time of the year. Snowdrops, primulas, primroses, heathers and pulmonaria were all in bloom.
Mind you my camera seems not to be coping with close ups, time for a new one maybe.
I still think we’ll get snow at Easter or thereabouts, but I’ve got some of the seeds I want for this summer and I’m champing at the bit to get stuck into some proper gardening. It’s still far too cold to sow seeds though.
Oh what a lovely garden, Katrina! You are so much further along than we are…I’m a tad jealous for the color right now.
Wilhelmina,
Thanks, but I know that when your gardens get going they zoom along at speed and overtake ours!
I’m wildly jealous! Today the high in my part of Minnesota is only 8°F and there isn’t a flower in sight. It is sunny though and the fresh snow is blindingly bright in the sunshine.
Christine,
We’ve had four seasons in one day here! It was mild and bright this morning, but after lunch I went out to do a bit of tidying up and planted a peony rose root, I decided it was too cold and as soon as I went in it started to snow! It was quite heavy but didn’t lie.
We occasionally experience days like that in Minnesota, but usually in April!
Christine,
I suppose you do have wonderful weather in the summer which we generally don’t have, sometimes summer doesn’t appear at all! But I couldn’t stand the wild temperature swings that you have.
Yes, our summers can be very nice, but you’re right about the wild temperature swings: last year there was a 160°F degree difference between our January weather and our August weather! Weather is always a topic of general interest in Minnesota! 🙂
Christine,
That is a crazy difference in the temps. I’ve read that some people can’t go out of their house when it’s too hot and bright, that sounds like a nightmare to me.We had friends years ago who came back from Canada (not so far from you) because they couldn’t stand the winter cold. Maybe you have to be born there!
Wow! My garden is still covered in snow and ice and it was -21 when I left the house for work this morning. So call me envious. Your garden is looking lovely!
Stefanie,
Thanks, it’s needing a lot of cutting back and tidying but I won’t do that until the warmer weather to protect any new growth coming through, -21 F is almost -30 Celsius which is just about the coldest it has ever reached in the UK. I think -33 C is the record. It was 43 F here today – then it started to snow, but didn’t lie.
Katrina,
How wonderful–you have green grass! Flowers (yes, early ones), but I’m so happy you posted these photos. So nice to think of you amidst all of this SPRING. I don’t mind too much, but we are more than two months away from the earliest spring bulbs, and green grass is the second week of May at the earliest. But, who knows? Maybe we’ll have an early spring! We have not been as cold overall as the last four winters, so…???
As you know, I always adore your garden posts.
Judith,
We have had so much rain the ground is squelching, the grass is always green here, even if we do have a prolonged dry spell. I feel our winters are long enough, I couldn’t stand having to wait as long as you do for the spring flowers to appear.
Our winter beauty and pleasures are such that I always hate to see them go. It’s a mixed bag, for sure. Our springs go by in a flash–I do wish they didn’t though.
Judith,
Given your summer heat I’m sure I would rather have your cold weather. The seasons are all screwed up even here. I just wish it would stop raining.
I’ve seen snow drops, crocuses, and hellebores in bloom around here (not in my garden, except the crocuses). We’ve had a very mild winter in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Joan,
I’m now wondering what has happened to my hellebores. The forsythia and mahonia should be blooming very soon too.