 |
| Snowdrops - always first to herald spring |
Despite the fact that the UK has had an awful lot of rain and flooding this winter with thousands of acres of land, particularly in the south of England, underwater (and it will remain so for weeks if not months), the climate in the north of England has been relatively kind when compared with previous years. This winter I can only remember two days when it has been frosty, so far. We've had only a scattering of snow once or twice, so far, and a lot of rain. Fortunately, my garden is high on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire and not subject to flooding but it has been subjected to battering winds which have been rather frightening at times. The only damage, so far, was when my neighbour's fence blew down and loosened one of my fencing panels and cracked the top of a fence post.
Daily Mail - aerial views of UK flooding
 |
| Prunus Avium Stella Gisela 5 Cherry Tree with lovely healthy buds |
I'm surprised that my cherry tree has such lovely buds all over it. The squirrels, bless them, use it to clamber from the fencing into my garden when they are raiding the bird seed. They're welcome to the seed but I won't be impressed if they knock the buds off my tree. I think I shall have to move it soon. The cherry tree is in a pot so it should be easy enough but I've had it one particular place as it gets shelter from the wind.
Clematis Alpina 'Constance'
This is the first year that I've overwintered Clematis Alpina 'Constance' and I did wonder if it had died altogether. It retained a lot of its leaves, albeit dead, and I think that has helped protect some of the embryo buds. Having said that, we have had a mild winter, so far!
Now, for me, the loveliest thing is that my mini-greenhouse, the cheap thing on a metal frame, has kept a few of my herbs very happy indeed. I know our winter has been mild until nowand I'm aware that some of the herbs are hardy but I do think that the greenhouse keeps things ticking over nicely even if the temperature drops dramatically. There is a clear plastic cover on the greenhouse covered with a fleece cover and topped with yet another cover that is clear, reinforced, plastic. If that doesn't do the job of keeping things above zero, then I don't know how else to do it without the expense of heating.
 |
| Flat parsley overwintering in mini-greenhouse |
 |
| Chives waking up and almost ready to be chopped! |
The rosemary is wonderfully healthy harboured in the mini-greenhouse, away from dirt and wind. I even used some on Christmas Day with the turkey.
 |
| Rosemary (right) looking so very healthy |
Next to the rosemary is my lemon balm and it seems to be taking off. I'm ok with that! I love to drink it as a lemony herb tea.
 |
| Lemon balm - happy in the mini-greenhouse |
The lemon thyme is not looking so happy and it didn't look so great when I chopped it back last year and stuck it in the mini-greenhouse but it seems happy enough now as it is making plenty of new growth.
 |
| Lemon thyme |