Tuesday 4 January 2011

Is Spring on its way??


Lupin

Crocus


Iris

I believe these are Alliums??? And in the ground, not even in the warmer pots!
Actually, now I think they might be Snowdrops. I don't remember having any in this area though, it's mostly Alliums around here.
Sedum


Snowdrops…
(really must mulch this border, got the bark waiting to be spread!)

Shasta Daisy growth

I’m very surprised to see bulbs coming up which are in the ground, I expected them to be behind those in the pots close to the house where they’re kept nice and sheltered.

Mixed reviews from last January… I had Tulips and drumstick Allium coming up by now, but no sign of either yet.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought you had a lot of snow this season. I am surprised to see so many plants making a showing. We had very warm weather a few days ago, now we are back to snow. I did not see any green popping out yet.

scottweberpdx said...

I've been noticing the same this this past week or so...seems way too early...maybe the plants know something we don't :-)

Liz said...

Hi GWGT,

We did have a lot of snow in late November/early December and melted after around 2 weeks. Since then we've only had a small sprinkling of snow but plenty of heavy hoar frosts.
I'm very surprised to see the bulbs popping up too, especially with the snow arriving so early on and I'm even more surprised to see the Lupin has new growth on it already.

I'm dreading another load of snow arriving and killing off any growth.

Liz said...

Hi Scott,

I'm hoping the plants know something we don't too! However it's still really rather cold and the ground has been frozen for over a month - which doesn't usually happen - so it's very strange.
People have heard birds in full song and showing 'friendly' behaviour to each other too, now that's far too early!

Esther Montgomery said...

I have mixed feelings about this. I have quite a few bulbs coming up too. It's sort of exciting seeing them reappear (one's never certain they will!). On the other hand, I worry the snow has surprised them into thinking the hurdle of February is already passed.

Esther

easygardener said...

I have not yet ventured in the garden for a really close look. It is all so wet, cold and depressing. I have got one shrub in flower so life is returning. Some sun might help to get me going!

Liz said...

Hey Esther,

I share your thoughts on the bulbs already showing... I'm worried we'll get more snow again like we did around this time last year and totally finish everything off. I'm already dreading to see the full extent of all the damage from the heavy snow in December.

I've heard reports of birds singing and actually mating already - and I actually heard an unusual amount of song over the weekend at Sherwood Park too. I'm hoping the birds know something we don't, but reality is they may have been tricked!

Liz said...

Hi EG,

So far I've only ventured to the borders close to the house, refilling the bird feeders means I have to walk up the lawn and it's still completely frozen! But I haven't actually taken a real look around the plants away from the house.
I need to have a look because I'm interested to see if my Winter Jasmine is in flower yet...
Today has been solid rain, so no chance of venturing out to take a look, but hopefully it'll clear up soon.

Shirley said...

Way ahead of us, Liz. Great images for the gardener here :-D

Ice is still holding most of our garden. Although it's just been six weeks like this (we can see some green now) it feels so much longer.

Don't think I'd do living in Canada... the snow tried to come back last night and the weather peeps say it is to return up our way tomorrow :-(

Wishing you a good weekend out in your garden with your camera :-D

A Year In My Garden said...

Lovely pictures - good to see green shoots coming through - We haven't got many of them yet - Happy New Year

Liz said...

Hi Shirl,

I really am honestly surprised at how far along they are, perhaps it's more of a light issue than temperature? We had a fair few clear days during December - which is what led to all the hoar frosts, but no snow (one only had one bit lump of snow, compared to others who had it repeatedly). So they must've been getting plenty of light, but it would've clearly been very cold.

All the snow/ice seems to have gone from here now, just the very last dregs on pavements where we had huge mountains which were cleared off the roads - well over 6ft high!

6 weeks is an extremely long time to have had snow/ice covering the garden, so I can imagine it feels like much longer!

They keep changing their mind over the snow for thursday. At first it was heavy, then light - and only in the afternoon - but now we're back to heavy snow! I planned to go to Dobbies tomorrow to pick up some odds and ends and to get my mum some things for her birthday on Sunday. Reeeeally hope it doesn't snow :(

I don't think I'll be spending long in the garden, I've barely ventured beyond the back door, these photos were purely from the borders by the decking. No idea what's happening in the rest of the garden!

Liz said...

Hi,

Thank you very much!
I checked on the snowdrops today and they've already grown a fair amount since those photos a few days ago! Very excited!

mike 'hazeltree' thompson said...

Hi Liz, yes we have shoots coming through too, the winter solstice is well behind us and the days are getting longer, spring is on its way but not quite yet!

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

Great photos again Liz. I've got crocus bulbs making a start too, which is rather lovely - assuming they don't get killed off by a monster frost... At least I know they haven't all rotted away!

Liz said...

Hi Mike,

Today was clear and it allowed me for the first time in a while to notice at what point it actually became twilight - around 4:45 with still a little light left at 5.
I'm going to check on the Snowdrops tomorrow, we had snow on Friday which was gone by Saturday thankfully! Hopefully the bulbs will be ok.

Liz said...

Hi Janet,

Glad to hear you too have bulbs poking through, hopefully they won't take too long to flower and the worst of the cold weather is now behind us - watch me jinx us!
I'm hoping my bulbs have begun to naturalise, some have been in for a few years now and it would be nice to see their numbers increasing at last... But the reality is, some may well have rotted away!

Pam's English Garden said...

Dear Liz, It seems that spring IS on its way at your house! I wonder if anything is happening under the snow at mine? I don't think so. Wishing you a happy and healthy new gardening year! P x

Liz said...

Hi Pam,

I've been fooled before with the Spring plants... They have popped up in November and December in previous years and then sat teasing me for months before blooming later than bulbs in seemingly everyone else's gardens!

You never know, the bulbs may be growing under the snow, they will at least be insulated and kept warm by the blanket.

debsgarden said...

Definite signs of spring! I have to get out and start looking for my own signs, though we are supposed to have snow and ice tonight - again! Twice in the same year; I'll believe it when i see it. I really am ready for spring now that the holidays are over.

Nutty Gnome said...

We may only be about 10 miles away, but you just prompted me to pop out for a look in my garden - sod all coming up here! Mind you, we are higher than you.

Barbara said...

There is hope for spring - at least in your garden. We've had so much snow I haven't been able to check, but now I want to!

Liz said...

Hi Deb,

I think we'd all like Spring to come right about now! It's that time of year where there's little to look forward to until Spring arrives and the days lengthen, until then it's all a little blurgh, brown and grey. I'd like to see some more green, and am grateful for the Ferns I planted at the back of the garden which are acting as wonderful little gems... I hadn't realised they were evergreen when I bought them, so I might just have to get more and plant them closer to the house so I can appreciate them up close.

Liz said...

Hi Liz,

Is Chesterfield higher than Sheff? I've no idea to be honest, but I would assume it very much depends on which side you're on and whether you're close to the peaks.
Btw Liz, do you know any good and cheap garden centres? I generally go to Dobbies but they are expensive. I can buy plants for less than half the price (around £3 compared to the usual £6/7/8) down in south Lincolnshire and wondered if there's anywhere similar around here.

I hope you get something coming up soon though, I'm sure there's something happening under the soil at least and they'll soon be popping up.

Liz said...

Hi Barbara,

We were lucky here and we haven't had any real covering of snow since the beginning of December when the rest of the UK was pretty much covered for most of the month, so I think the bulbs have had enough daylight to get them growing.
I hope you begin to get spring bulbs appearing soon!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

It's too early for signs like that here. I've decided to enjoy seeing them on others' blogs without feeling sorry for myself.