Let's Talk About the Weather

Oh my...how wonderful it's been.  The mild weather is continuing and I decided to start some spring cleaning in the garden.  It's been a few days since we have been basically snow free and the ground is no longer sodden so I decided to get out there and start tidying up (and excitedly taking photos of some much-anticipated signs of life).  A full month early.  Say what??

Garden cleanup tools at the ready...

Our weather this winter has been perfect.  And when I say "perfect" I mean REALLY perfect.  We had a mild, very long, drawn out fall over a good 6-8 weeks.  Cooler temperatures didn't arrive until mid-November and even then, the daily high didn't go below freezing until December.  It was glorious.

Then the snow came - a nice big snowstorm.  When was that, you ask?  On Christmas Eve.  I know!  Could the timing have been more perfect?  The answer to that question is no.

While a Christmas Eve snowstorm is not the best for driving to a relatives house (although with the pandemic, most of us were not doing much of that anyhow), it is absolutely magical otherwise, especially waking up on Christmas day to a blanket of snow.  And best of all, the ground stayed snow-covered until now, providing a nice thick layer of insulation.

New hellebore foliage just starting to emerge

But what about the temperatures?  They have been amazing!  This is, hands down, the best winter we have had for as long as I can remember.

Daffodils - Now in their 2nd season &
I'm so excited to see how they do!

Normally, we have a dozen or more very cold days throughout January and February, in the -20's ( <-4F) and even -30's (<-22F).  Not this year, though.  So far, we have only had 4 days that went below -20C with the lowest being -22.1C in February.  In fact, we had above freezing temps for a full 15 days in January.

I'm not 100% sure what this is - my guess it tulips,
but it seems much too early for them

Overall the weather was just cold enough to keep the snow on the ground, but not so cold that we were constantly complaining about how cold it was.  In fact, just the opposite was true - everyone was thoroughly thankful for the mild winter weather.  Hey...you guys in more moderate climates - stop laughing 😂 😉

Last year, I tore apart a few beds and in doing so had to relocate a bunch of bulbs,
both daffodils and tulips, which I planted in a "holding bed".
Once again, I'm surprised that the tulips are already coming up.

And just to give you an idea of how "off" we are in terms of normal, our historical daytime high at this time of year averages at about 2C/35F.  And this is what the weather looks like this coming week - remember, we are looking at Celsius here (54-61F)!


The thing is, we always get the obligatory April snowstorm, so I'm not exactly counting my chickens yet, so to speak.

The only sign of the snow that covered the landscape only a couple of weeks ago
is in the beds that line the north side of the house

I am a bit worried that we will get a cold snap after things start to leaf out or, when it comes to the bulbs, begin to flower.  Oh well -  no point in worrying over things I can't control.  I'll be making the best of the good weather we have now and keeping my fingers crossed that Mother Nature doesn't look down and say "Ooops...that's not right" and throw us a curve ball.


Comments

  1. I hope your luck holds, Margaret! Your post is proof positive that everything, including assessments of weather, is relative. The weather down this way this winter has been highly variable, with extended warm spells (i.e. temperatures in the upper 70s-80F) in January, followed by cooler-than-usual temperatures (below 60F!). However, the most annoying thing has been our extremely low rainfall. Even with recent storms, I've registered just 3.95 inches of rain since October 1st. Our "normal" rainfall is about 15 inches, most if not all of which usually falls between October and early April.

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  2. It's been very mild here too. It's nice to be able to get outdoors and get some jobs done early in the year, it makes you feel as though you're ahead of the game then. Let's hope it holds and that we've seen the last of the winter weather now.

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  3. We've had a relatively mild winter as well. It has allowed us to get some outdoor projects completed early. I'm with you getting spring cleanup started early. No complaints here.

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  4. We had a mid winter as well, except we were buried by snow in February. Happy spring!

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  5. We’re not as euphoric about our winter - it’s been so very wet

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  6. It is hard not getting a jump on gardening when it is nice out. I bought a couple Greenstalk Planters so am working on filling them with soil. Our last predicted possible frost date is April 29. I saw a Johnny Jump Up out there that made it through the winter and is flowering. Nancy

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    Replies
    1. Those spring surprises are always so nice. I miss your posts, Nancy!

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  7. Oh, I'm glad you had a pleasant winter. We had a great one until early/mid-February, when the polar vortex decided to wobble and we had polar weather for a couple of weeks. Great early spring weather now, though, so I can't complain too much. Fortunately, we had plenty of snow cover during the polar weather, so the spring plants are doing just fine. Happy spring!

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