Grrrrr! I'm feeling grumpy today. There's nothing annoys me more than the prospect of a cold spell in February - just when one is itching to get on with some pre-spring activity such as creating new beds, or moving things around, or (ahem) planting the polyanthus I bought the other week.
Those poor polyanthus. No sooner did I buy them - during what I thought was going to continue to be a long mild spell - than we had a hard frost. It got mild again. I thought: "I must plant those polyanthus". No sooner did I poke my nose outside than the temperatures plummeted. It's not so much that the ground is too hard to plant, but I can't walk across the grass when it's frosty - it makes black footmarks on the lawn.
This week, it's going to get colder and colder in London, with temperatures drifting towards -4C(25F) overnight. That might not seem much if you live in northern Canada or Siberia, but a sustained blast of that over three or four nights may wreak havoc with some of the more tender plants I thought might get through the winter unscathed.
The polyanthus are Primula elatior 'Castillian', whose flowers come in cheerful shades of bronze, orange, terracotta and yellow, bunched on the typical sturdy stem of P. elatior hybrids. (Elatior is the clue that their great-grandparents were oxlips, rather than primroses.) Best of all, 'Castillian' is slightly scented.
They look fantastically cheerful alongside yellow-leaved grasses such as Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' and the blue-grey emerging foliage of Sedum spectabile. This year, I'm going to try them with Heuchera 'Electra', which is one of my favourites. It seems to keep its leaves in better shape over winter.
I'm going for colour this February. On the recommendation of James Alexander-Sinclair, writing in this month's issue of Gardeners' World magazine, I've invested in a couple of Prunus mume 'Beni-Chidori', the Japanese apricot, which has brilliant magenta flowers.
I normally like a combination of white and green in spring, but in a couple of weeks' time, I'm off to Miami with my daughter for a week's holiday and I know that when I get back, I will find England in late February something of an anticlimax compared to floriferous Florida.
So it's colour all the way. Hey, even the thought of it is starting to cheer me up!
9 comments:
After the euphoria (or should I say madness)of Christmas I find the January-February period as one big void before proper gardening action begins in March. With the mildness we recently had I think we all got lulled into early spring mode, but the coming cold spell is a snap back to reality that it is still very much February (almost anyway). Only 28 days in that month though and come March time everything is more optimistic!
I do like the sound of that Prunus! I have yet to read the latest copy of GW mag so will look out for that article. Have a great time in Miami, and share some of their sun with us when you get back :)
If you're planning to be in Miami, check out Raymond Jungles work. I'm sure it's very much to your taste.
Clearly your Polyanthus are cursed and the cause of the imminent cold snap. Please return/compost them immediately to prevent further cold...
Mark and Gaz: It is a void, isn't it? At first, I welcome it, but then I get a bit stir-crazy...
I like the challenge of finding spring flowers that look good with palms and so on. White is a safe option, but colour is more exciting. Really bright colours, like magenta and orange work quite well, but I think the key is to have lots of foliage with them, such as evergreen grasses like carex or acorus, and libertia. Otherwise my garden looks like someone accidentally spilt a packet of bulbs in the exotic bit of the garden centre.
James: Thanks, James - I must do a post, asking for recommendations.
Clive: LOL!
Could n't agree with you more. Am in the same odd predicament, in that the weather seemingly is mild and hence keen to get on with gardening jobs, particularly planting. Though, with Feb on our doorstep, we could be facing some hard frosts. So am left pondering, seeing 'spring' coming through, but hesitant go out and do the jobs I want to! Hadn't heard of your Prunus before, what lovely flowers! Have a lovely time in Miami!
I'm itching to get out there too! It's snowing here at the moment.
I have that Prunus - it's gorgeous. Terry at The Botanic Nursery has them if you're having problems finding a source.
Have a great time in Florida - what a great way to cheer up what I find is the worst month of the year!
I can understand why you are sad about the cold but I'm longing for it. There seems to be some kind of grub rolled up, or inside, or in between every leaf in my garden. Plants are vanishing. Just being stripped down to stalks and nothingness. I'd be so grateful to frost if it came and zapped them.
(And I like snow.)
(And how can you be grumpy when you are off to Miami?!)
Hope you have wonderful time!
While in Florida, you might want to check out Bok Tower Gardens... incredible site. I actually just posted a few photos from our trip there in 2009 (http://wifemothergardener.blogspot.com/2012/01/bok-tower-gardens-in-lake-wales-florida.html)
...or a little closer to Miami
is McKee Botanical Garden. I have not been, but it looks amazing.
How you can bring the weather back with you!
Oh how I'd love to be able to even think about gardening in February. Our winter in snowy Canada has been a bit of a non-issue. Unbelievably warm - it's above freezing again this week. Well, well above normal. Hope you have a grand time in Florida - don't forget that sunscreen.
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