It’s good to be a pensioner when the weather is like it’s been recently with three in a row heavy snowfalls and probably the most snow I’ve experienced since moving here over 40 years ago. I get my daily exercise by shovelling the snow to make a path the 40 or so metres down to the gate (video), repeating the process the day after when the wind blows it back again during the night! Otherwise, just enjoying the view, birds in the garden and sorting seed and making my new seed list! Unfortunately, the long term forecast doesn’t make good reading as it is expected to reach +8C a week from now which translates to one big mess!
There was a heavy heavy snow fall during the night – heavy in depth of snow and heavy in that the snow itself is wet and branches were bent down to the ground including this hazel growing next to the pathway into the house. Bringing the branches down to ground level I was astonished to see that it was completely covered in male catkins in bud, each of which will have around 250 flowers which will emerge as soon as it gets milder in a few weeks! …and a few more pictures of the garden this morning:
It’s truly magical now with the whole garden covered with a deep carpet of snow, an important input as it melts helping drive the equally magical annual explosion of growth in The Edible Garden which starts, amazingly, in only a few weeks – a truly magical transition.
Various Allium species are the hardiest of edible plants either staying green all winter (e.g., Allium cernuum and Allium carinatum) or sprouting very early and able to withstand some frost. With a minimum forecast of -6C tomorrow after a very mild March, it will be interesting to see whether any of these early shooters are damaged. Here are a selection of pictures of Alliums and other early spring shoots in this weeks snow.
Allium ochotense (closely related to Allium victorialis from Japan)
Allium ochotense (closely related to Allium victorialis from Japan)
Allium hymenorrhizum
Allium hymenorrhizum
Allium jesdianum
Allium schoenoprasum
Allium pskemense x fistulosum
Hemerocallis (day lily)
Allium stipitatum (Persian shallots)
Allium stipitatum (Persian shallots)
Allium stipitatum (Persian shallots)
Allium carinatum subsp pulchellum
Primula veris var macrocalyx
Alliums senescens x nutans
This Parasenecio / Cacalia spp. is much earlier than my others
I was in the garden this morning and heard the contact call of the (European) redwing (rødvingetrost), described as a thin, drawn and sharp “sreee”. It’s always a joy to hear the first one each spring. 10th April is the average arrival time here, so this is right on schedule. A little later I heard a snatch of song too. With snow on the ground this morning redwings that had arrived before northerly winds set in were forced down to near the fjord where there’s less snow. I made a little video of one bird close to the house before the flock (6 birds) flew off.
Some beautiful views the last couple of days between snow showers:
Incredible variations in fjord colour. Here there was a really strong contrast between almost white in the distance and deep blue green. Forbordsfjellet in the background. This is almost like the contrast below between the fjord and snow-covered fields.
It’s that time of year that Hablitzia tamnoides (Caucasian spinach / stjernemelde) goes all floppy and needs help to go upwards rather than sideways! The floppiness you see here has nothing to do with the weather which habby loves although it’s never expereienced being snowed on for 5 days in a row in the middle of May in its short 18 year lifetime!
3 mornings in a row new snow has greeted me, but it mostly melts again during the day. I’m feeling for people in the north where the arctic city of Tromsø still has over 1m depth of snow and in the hills around here where the snow is accumulating. On the plus side I can still harvest for dinner in the afternoon and there’s entertainment with the abnormal numbers of birds in the garden foraging as open patches start appearing every morning. There are still several meadow pipits (heipiplerke) and many fieldfares (gråtrost) some coming right up to the house. This morning bramblings (bjørkefink) also made an appearance.
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
…and a few more pictures of the garden this morning:
