Spring Snow

Woke up this morning to snow - quite a surprise even though it was forecast (chilly to say the least). What to do...  downloaded PhotoScape & decided to take a few photos of the snow and try to frame a few...

Rhubarb with a halo of ice.

The heather is highland hearty and doesn't mind the cold.

The tulips have drooped depressingly.

The crocus don't mind too much.

And the birds keep warm gorging on peanuts.

Bulbs (tulip, cyclamen, crocus, snowdrop)

Tulips are opening...

But they're tiny...

What happened?

Last year, I recall, they were 3 times the size!

It's like they have turned into mini tulips - a bit of a mystery.

Below: Crocuses outside are still holding up well (bigger than my tulips!).



Outdoor crocus up close.



Indoor grown crocus.

Daffodils and cyclamen are coming up under a Sycamore tree. At least...

I think this is cyclamen with a little yellow flower? It's been in the garden for over 15 years and was inherited from previous owners. I can never find this plant searching on the internet. When it is in full flower I'll post more photos & maybe someone can help me identify it?

Snowdrops are beginning to finish flowering, although...

there's still a good show in the distance around one of the trees.

The forecast is for snow tonight and sleety rain or snow at the weekend. Buuurrrrr!

Bargain Gardener

A few little bargains this week...

Every gardener does needs a good pair of gloves! I couldn't resist purchasing some marked down. The brown are full leather and the blue/white are part leather. Both will come in handy when I tackle the bramble and hedges. One does need a bit of glove choice for the multitude of garden jobs.

Above: £3.50 (5.60 USD) for a pruning saw - too good to pass up. I snapped mine in half last year so hope I'm luckier with this one.

99p (1.50 USD) for three Echinacea plants - a bargain. At the bottom left of the picture, some of the root and growth from one of the plants is showing. Hope this summer they look as good as the picture.

I've always wanted Red Hot Poker in the garden. When I saw a pack of three for 99p I couldn't pass it by.

I've got to stay away from the shops!

But then again, my digging fork cracked in half this week.