On Thursday afternoon I was watering my parched pot potatoes (no rain for over a month) in my t-shirt, and on Friday morning I woke up to snow and 4 below zero temperatures.
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| Woolly hat back on! |
As Puck and I slip-slided through early morning walkies, I thought back to previous years. Did I experience this abrupt weather rollercoaster before, ever? Well, my memories of previous April 1st celebrations (we have a huge street party in my town to remember "we" threw out the Spanish oppressor in 1572) are mostly of getting a thorough soaking just when you have bought some chips, and there is usually a lot of wind to make all those flags snap. But this huge a change...no, can't recall.
My balcony plants have taken it in their stride, but the allotment plants, hm, don't know yet. My experience is plants usually do not react well to rollercoasters, and simply put their growth on halt. Or die. I'm especially apprehensive about my clematis and artichoke, as they were put in under near desert conditions, and now have had to deal with sudden winter on top of that.
Some of my plants simply shrug and get on with it though.
And in the greenhouse all is well.
This morning I decided to plant out my Verbena bonariensis, as they outgrew their 9" pots, and I had no soil to pot them on once again. So I gave them a pep talk*, dug them all a nice hole (pragmatically, i.e. at places I could get my trowel in), watered them in and left them to get on with it.
* "Well, here's the thing. You have been pampered since October, but no more. You are tough, you can do this! When you spot a slug, hit it over the head with a clot, Frith knows they are like concrete. Oh, and there won't be extra watering, so dig in those roots!"
The cauliflower are growing well, and I've planted some paksoi today, in between the salad greens (which so far are disappointing, but I have since read that they like light to sprout, ah. Well, in my defence, the earlier batch were covered and did just fine). As soon as I've moved the rest of the Digitalis outside, I'll prepare a bed for the radishes neighbour Yvon has given me, three kinds, no less.
And the beans have been moved outside as well, behind the greenhouse, next to the Apple trees. They were leggy...note to self: do not sow them that early next year!!
I have 5 days off work now, so there will be a lot more planting (on the balcony as well), so I will have a lot to tell you next week.
And perhaps, hopefully, there will be some news about the frog pond. Mr Waddles has moved himself back into the greenhouse though. I noticed him staring at me from behind the garlic this morning.
You can read more about my gardens at Instagram@songsmith2962, where there are more photos of my garden as well.
