picked this week

We've had glorious spring weather this week - Thursday was particularly warm, up to 17 degrees in the afternoon. Snowdrops and crocus are opening. The first daffodils won't be far behind. Walking up to the wood, I've seen leaves on hawthorns, flowers on sloes and anemone leaves unfurling.
Down on the allotment, the pigeons are being a nuisance and eating the brassica tops again. Hopefully netting thrown over the top will keep them away.

After a couple of weeks of no homegrown veg, this week's seems like a huge haul..

.. and I've also managed to put together a couple of platefuls of salad leaves from garden and greenhouse - rocket, beetroot leaves, chinese cabbage etc

Ready for Spring....

I've managed at last to make it as far as the greenhouse to check on seedlings there - all looking well under the fleecey wrappers.

Freezing temperatures and heating turned up means the indoor seeds have been kept warm so I now have onions, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers peeping through.

All this late snow is going to slow things down outside and we don't want to wait too long for new season veg, so yesterday we set broad beans in pots in the back porch to keep warm and start growing while the ground is still too cold.

A Week of Snow

Last weekend's snow is just starting to melt away

and snowdrops just peeping through again

leeks are poking their tops out again

it's just about possible to see the cauliflowers which were covered by fleece
though I'm not sure how well they've surivived

spring cabbage looks messy

but early purple sprouting broccoli is ok but bent over

Just need to check on the allotment now.....

Snow!!

Cold all week with ground frozen solid. This morning a flock of redwings (8 or 9) and a single fieldfare showed up in the garden - never a good sign as they only turn up when the weather is very bad!

Snow started falling early afternoon, about 2,
and soon settled




by evening it was lying about 6 inches deep

turning the garden into a winter wonderland

It may not be here long as rain is forecast - I'll wait and see.

Groundhog Day

All week has been cold with frost in varying amounts overnight but most days have been gloriously sunny. February 2nd - whether you consider it to be Groundhog Day or Candlemas - was a little cloudier at times but both hogs and candles would have cast a shadow. Looks like we're in for more cold weather.
We covered beans and brassicas at the allotment with fleece and I've also put a layer over the smaller brassicas and salad leaves in the greenhouse. Some of the garden pots are starting to crack - this is a bit odd as they didn't last year when it was much colder - and I've dragged the potted blueberry into the greenhouse before its roots became exposed to the frost.
This morning even the snowdrops are drooping with cold, it's impossible to keep the birds' water defrosted and snow is forecast for later today!

February flowers

The weather's turned very cold in the last few days - even some light snowy drizzle for a few minutes yesterday. Down at the allotment the broad beans are looking cold and droopy, and one of the cauliflowers has caught the frost. We've put fleece over the caulis and small cabbages, and both fleece AND plastic cloche over the beans. Hoping everything will survive threatened temperatures of -4.

Meanwhile, at home in the garden, it looks more like Spring.


quite a few snowdrops are showing colour

bergenia is trying to flower

and some wallflowers...

there's even daffodils in bud - hoping they'll be ok with the cold snap

and the calendulas are still flowering - though now in the comparatively warmer atmosphere of the greenhouse.