It seems the snow will never stop. We haven't had the huge accumulations that parts of New England have seen, just another couple of inches one day, another couple of inches a few days after that. After a while it does amount to a whole bunch. The sun has been shining more (when it's not [...]
cold_climate
The first frost: To cover or not to cover?
September 24, 2008 – Posted in: FAQ, Garden chores, WeatherCarol over at May Dreams Gardens advises us to Embrace The End of The Growing Season For A Happier Life. She says, "Save yourself both time and worry and forget about covering plants in the fall." Well, yes and no. We covered some things for our first frost. Yes, we already had it! From experience [...]
Plants grow under the snow
February 20, 2008 – Posted in: Weather, What's up/bloomingA couple of days ago, Mr. McGregor's Daughter was speculating that my snowdrops might be blooming under the snow. I was pretty sure they weren't, but I took advantage of Monday's thaw to confirm my suspicions (photo above). There were quite a few more patches of snowdrops visible now, but none are near blooming yet. [...]
What is a cold climate?
February 7, 2008 – Posted in: FAQThis photo was taken two days before the digital thermometer bottomed out in January 2005Quite a while ago, someone emailed me, asking what was a cold climate. I never did answer them, because I thought it was obvious. A cold climate is any climate too cold to grow the plants you really want to grow. [...]
I live in a cold climate
June 7, 2007 – Posted in: MiscellaneousWhat I saw this morning [Photographer: Kathy Purdy]Just in case there's anyone reading this who doesn't yet understand what a cold climate is (I've had Australian searchers looking for "hardy plants" arrive at this site), I thought I'd give an illustration. When I got up about an hour earlier, the outdoor temperature was 36 degrees [...]
The Intimate Garden: Book Review
April 8, 2007 – Posted in: Book reviews, DesignThe Intimate Garden: Twenty Years and Four Seasons in Our Garden by Gordon and Mary Hayward belongs to the rare breed of landscape design book that is actually helpful: One private residential garden--not little glimpses of a dozen gardens The garden was developed over many years. (They figured it out as they went along) They [...]
Spring is just around the corner
March 6, 2007 – Posted in: Meditations, Mud SeasonThe trouble with that platitude is that Spring is so erratic around here that we often don't recognize it when it comes. For the next eight weeks or so, every time we hit a spell of bad weather, we will repeat to ourselves, and each other, "Well, spring is right around the corner." But we're [...]
Notes From Zone 4: Garden Blog Pioneer Found
February 11, 2007 – Posted in: Recommended LinksIn my series on Garden Blog Pioneers, I reported in the final part that Notes From Zone 4 was MIA. Well, they're back. If you ever had doubts that a cold climate garden could look good, take one look at their banner image and doubt no more. Then, appetite whetted, browse through their gallery. A [...]
Eighteen inches of snow on the ground
January 13, 2003 – Posted in: WeatherI don't have any bare ground for crocus to be poking up through--we have at least 18 inches of snow on the ground. Is it because the crocus are near the heated greenhouse that they are coming up? I hope some time this winter you and Judy both can tell us what size and type [...]
Weather variations or climate change?
December 27, 2002 – Posted in: WeatherI had always thought you were in Zone 4, Ro, but when I consult my most detailed copy of the USDA Hardiness Zone map (which I got in an old issue of Fine Gardening) I see you actually are listed as Zone 5. Not that the map is the last word on what zone you [...]
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