Monday, May 18

A Chilly May

It was cold last week.

The Met Office may insist that May’s temperatures are average for the time of year, but it certainly did not feel like it. Records from the weather station in our garden paint a rather different picture. The average temperature for the first half of May this year has been just 10.1°C, whereas our records over the last sixteen years show an average of 11.5°C for the same period. In fact, according to our figures, so far this is the fourth coldest start to May in the last sixteen years.

Along with the chilly conditions came rain, hail and even thunderstorms. It was hard to believe that this was late spring with summer supposedly just around the corner.

Between the light showers and persistent drizzle, we managed to dodge the worst of the weather while gardening, working at the allotment and taking Ruby for her walks.

Although the weather has been disappointing and progress outdoors has been frustratingly slow, there was at least plenty of excitement at Nostell.





NB: Sometimes comments made here rather than on my main blog often are overlooked and languish in a moderation list. Sorry if this happens - I'm honestly not ignoring you
Posted by Sue Garrett at 8:43 am 0 comments

Monday, May 11

Spring Green, Fresh Palnting and Late Frost

We seemed to experience every season in a single week. Some days were pleasantly mild, with coats abandoned altogether, while on others we were piling on extra layers to keep warm. There was drizzly rain, along with a couple of frosty nights.

Late frosts always seem to arrive just as the potatoes begin to grow, so the question this year was whether the potato tops would survive.

The strawberry plants are covered in flowers too, but would the frost have blackened the centres and ruined the fruit?

We made another trip to Stillingfleet Lodge Nursery to collect plants for our second border.

It was shaping up to be a busy week, balancing work on the allotment with Ruby’s walks.

A warning if you choose to read on — this post is very photo-heavy, as the camera has had a particularly busy week.




NB: Sometimes comments made here rather than on my main blog often are overlooked and languish in a moderation list. Sorry if this happens - I'm honestly not ignoring you
Posted by Sue Garrett at 8:30 am 0 comments

Monday, May 4

A Week of Steady Changes

The temperature, on Thursday, was just about perfect—just like one of those lovely summer days where it’s warm but not too hot. I’d happily take that all summer long. I’m not a fan of it getting too hot, and Ruby would definitely agree—she’s far more comfortable when it’s like that.

The nights, though, are a different story. When it cools down, we can head indoors or grab an extra layer—but the plants can’t uproot and go somewhere warmer, they just have to get on with it where they are.

After such a wet winter, it’s strange to now be dealing with a lack of rain. It was starting to feel a bit like déjà vu, and the watering can is back in regular use—especially now that planting season is underway.

Then Sunday, by contrast, was wet, with rain falling for much of the day. It wasn’t anything dramatic, but by evening we’d had around 20mm—more than the whole of April combined. Whether it will have made much difference to the soil remains to be seen.

There have been a couple of little “milestones” this week too.






NB: Sometimes comments made here rather than on my main blog often are overlooked and languish in a moderation list. Sorry if this happens - I'm honestly not ignoring you
Posted by Sue Garrett at 9:39 am 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)