Has Spring sprung?
Is it here? Has Spring actually arrived or is this false Spring. False Spring who encourages us to go out pruning , sowing seeds and planting only to hit us in the teeth with a cold snap accompanied by an evil chuckle?
Which way should I jump? Start gardening or hibernate for a bit longer. Perhaps I should weigh up the evidence.
I can see that the snow and frost have disappeared and day time temperatures are up to 12 degrees Celsius (53F). Night time temperatures are well above freezing. Root vegetables are no longer frozen into the ground. I no longer wear gloves every day and I have forgotten about the need to buy warm, waterproof boots. More flowers are appearing in the garden. Look, I have my first Crocus. The evidence for gardening is most convincing at this point.
Crocus sieberi ssp. sublimis 'Tricolor'
Crocus chrysanthus 'Zwanenburg bronze'
On the other hand there are still signs that the weather is not as stable as it could be. I’m still wearing a scarf outside and my coat is firmly zipped up. The sun rarely shines and I still have the heating on indoors. The garden is damp and brown looking. My tender plants are still lodged in the greenhouse. The cats refuse to stay outside for long and are never far away from the house radiators and warm chairs. They sometimes show surprising signs of intelligence (see below). Perhaps I should follow their lead and stay inside, and forget gardening for now.
Halki playing Scrabble
I know I should follow the evidence and not my instincts. I should not sow seeds too early as I have done in previous years. I should not be overly optimistic.
Cold frame
I should probably have listened to the cat.
14 comments
Hilde in Norway http://hlbakkensvidereverdigheter.blogspot.com (you will need to use the translator) says that they will go through 5 winters before spring. I am sure that we will have more cold weather but 5 more winters! I just hope we don’t get frosts in April this year.
Best wishes Sylvia
Sylvia: I suppose I should be grateful that our spring is not quite as extreme as Norway’s (lol).
Well, if you always listened to the cat, you would never go outside at all, since in doing so you remove the human cushion and can-opener you truly are. Oh, this so-familiar dance… is it spring yet? Is it still winter? Signs are favorable, but then the evil surprise could still hit you. Hm. Maybe you could venture out to do clean-up tasks that won’t hurt the plants if there’s another snap? That’s what I’ve been doing lately, and trying not too look at the bare beds and other places that desperately need my help. Good luck!
Karen: It’s true – I am a shadowy figure to my cats – only the tins of cat food in my hand catch their eye! Gardening wise I will do the usual and hope the weather will be ok. Ever the gardening optimist :-)
Five winters until spring…that would be heartbreakingly hard! We have a roller coaster ride each February and March before spring settles in…It is tempting to plant and clean up~~gail
Gail: Yes we all have the same problem and sometimes you just can’t resist the temptation to get started. A little tidying up can’t hurt can it!
Just jump right in with the rest of us and start your seeds too early! I did.
Darla: I agree – now I’ve started there will be no stopping, whatever the weather!
I don’t think that winter is done and dusted yet :( That lovely puddy tat has probably got it right. I have not tidied up the tat from the perennials yet just in case. Having said that I have sown a few seeds earlier than I have ever done :)
Anna: Sowing seeds is a sort of compromise gardening, as long as I can safely keep them under some sort of cover!
I love Crocus flowers – they never fail to brighten up a corner – beautiful photos…
Miranda: Yes they are cheerful and of course if they are open you know the sun is shining.
My head says to tell you to wait another month. My early starts are always stunted.
My heart says prune and plant away. That’s what I’m doing. It’s not right, but we’re gardeners, we can’t help it, right? One of these years, it has to actually be spring in February. Why fight it?
Megan: Can’t resist can we. At least I know there are others like me out there (lol)
The crocuses are beautiful (as is the cat!). One advantage of the severe winter this year is that it hasn’t tempted me to start any early seeds off. But the bulbs appearing now means that my fingers will soon be itching to get sowing. Must. control. temptation.
HM: After all the snow common sense should tell me to hold off sowing but somehow resistance is futile!
At least here in Belgium, winter doesn’t seem to be over yet. We had a few days that the temperatures went above 5 degrees C, but at night it’s goes down to -5 and below, and weather forcast is ‘promising’ snow showers again for the first half of next week.
I do like winter (at least from the end of november till half february), but I also like to see my winterflowers blooming, and apart from my snowdrops I don’t see a lot of them.
AnneTanne: I hope it warms up as I’m visiting Brussels next month!
Lovely crocuses – always a hopeful sign. Yes, it’s warmer here too at last, but every year it’s the same isn’t it? A few days of warmth fool us into thinking it’s spring … only to have our hopes frozen. Spring is really on it’s way, though, two steps forward one step back, and we have to believe that the seeds we sow now will thrive in warmer weather. I’m just off to sit in the sun and contemplate all this!
Chaiselongue: I wish I could sit in the sun with you :-)
Of course you should listen to your cat. We are very surprised that you don’t. Your cat doesn’t seem to have trained you properly as we have done with our devoted slave.
The Bliss Team
Bliss Team: Yes you have trained Yolanda Elizabet well. I obviously need more lessons in cat servitude. I will try harder!
Hi EG, the cat knows all. We have five winters here in TN, Gail is forgetting about stawberry winter, dogwood winter, blackberry winter, I can’t remember the other names….We go by the last frost date for the major planting, for us it is April 10. But clean up can be done, the roses pruned, peas sown. But not spring yet, sadly. But it will be here soon! :-)
Frances
Frances: Well I hope it is soon because I can’t wait any longer. At least we only have one winter here :-)
You have got a great seed box so the seedlings have time to grow strong and robust. The crocus are gorgeous and very precious. They lure you out of the warm home to appreciate their beauty and to get a deep breath of rich fresh garden air! Well, puss in boots is well known to be a “Stubenhocker” which means they like it best in a warm spot in the living room. It seem nowadays they even do scrabble to look busy!
So far I’ve resisted the temptation to get sowing, but that open cold frame might just have sent me over the edge.
I will head myself off at the pass and get the secateurs out instead to do a quick spot of tidying up…
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