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| Dandelion |
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| Winter Jasmine |
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| Cilantro in the lawn |
And one more thing we need winter for...the sleds I bought last year for a winter without snow need to be broken in!
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Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
The Warm Weather Needs to Chill
I like warm weather, don't get me wrong. I like the warm spring sunshine that bathes everything in light and encourages the flowers to grow. I like the summer days - when it isn't above 90 degrees and 65% humidity - I'm not picky. I love the warm fall days where the sun trickles through the falling leaves. I even like the warm winter days, but we need a change in the air to bring us some cooler temperatures. The warm weather isn't giving the plants the necessary hours before spring to chill out.
It's also not going to kill off enough of the insect population - which means we'll probably end up with a bad mosquito, tick, and chigger season next spring. Not to mention squash bugs, squash vine borers and other vegetable garden pests. I've seen cherry trees flowering - months early. If the sap begins to flow in sensitive trees too early and we get cold temperatures we'll end with damage from the freezing sap. That's what caused death to many trees in 2007. We need some cold air to move in and bring us winter. We need to chill out. Winter is coming, I know. It's only a few days away on the calendar but the weather systems don't read the calendar. For now though we'll just have to wait and see.
We can enjoy what the warm weather does bring us and try to think positively. Warm weather brings a longer growing season. It keeps the vegetable garden growing without need for covering. It let's my winter jasmine (Jasmine nudiflorum) bloom earlier than it has ever bloomed in our garden before. It's bloomed in March, February and even January but never in December. I've seen daffodil foliage begin to emerge, but that's not unusual. Daffodils typically start growing now then bloom in February and March around here.
February and March are also when our gardens in Tennessee have the highest chance of being covered in snow. I won't give up hope that we won't have an appropriate winter, not yet. There's plenty of time for the temperature to drop and provide a corresponding drop in the insect population.
And one more thing we need winter for...the sleds I bought last year for a winter without snow need to be broken in!
And one more thing we need winter for...the sleds I bought last year for a winter without snow need to be broken in!
In the Cold Wet Snow
Today school was out, the roads were iced over, and the garden was draped in white. I always enjoy the one or two times each winter when our landscape is covered in snow. That's the great thing about living in Tennessee - or one of the great things - the mild winters! It will snow a couple times each year with usually no more than 1-4 inches. When it does snow 12-24 inches it doesn't last long and you're left wondering "did that really happen?" And around here we measure the snow in inches - not in feet! It's this type of situation that allows us to enjoy Old Man Winter when he comes to visit.
So here's what winter really looks like in Tennessee (although technically it isn't winter yet!)
We wake up to temperatures beyond cold, way beyond cold. My wireless weather station does a nice job of letting me know how cold our frost pocket really is. It's amazing how different our yard can be than what they say it is in our area on the news. These weather stations have really advanced a lot since we got ours (La Crosse Technology WS-1516-IT Professional Weather Center
@ Amazon).
When you actually get all dressed up in your winter weather gear here's what you see in the garden:
A red twig dogwood looks fantastic in the snow. In the early spring or late winter I'll trim back most of the stems and allow new growth to sprout up with its characteristic red bark color. Of course I'll make sure to propagate more than a few red twig dogwoods!
The vegetable garden is also covered with a layer of white snow. It looks so peaceful and organized right now!
Even though the temperatures inside my shed are staying 10-15 degrees warmer than the outside it is still dipping into the 20's. I don't have any heating system in there yet - one day maybe. For now it is protecting hardy plants that are in pots for next spring.
So here's what winter really looks like in Tennessee (although technically it isn't winter yet!)We wake up to temperatures beyond cold, way beyond cold. My wireless weather station does a nice job of letting me know how cold our frost pocket really is. It's amazing how different our yard can be than what they say it is in our area on the news. These weather stations have really advanced a lot since we got ours (La Crosse Technology WS-1516-IT Professional Weather Center
@ Amazon).When you actually get all dressed up in your winter weather gear here's what you see in the garden:
A Hemlock along the sideyard garden.
A red twig dogwood looks fantastic in the snow. In the early spring or late winter I'll trim back most of the stems and allow new growth to sprout up with its characteristic red bark color. Of course I'll make sure to propagate more than a few red twig dogwoods!
The paving stone patio looks very cool covered in snow.
Pink Muhly grass is poking it's leaves through the snow.
Ponytail grass (Nassella tenuissima) has its own interesting winter look.
The Powis Castle artemisia looks a little stressed out this time of year - it is the holidays afterall.
The vegetable garden is also covered with a layer of white snow. It looks so peaceful and organized right now!
Even though the temperatures inside my shed are staying 10-15 degrees warmer than the outside it is still dipping into the 20's. I don't have any heating system in there yet - one day maybe. For now it is protecting hardy plants that are in pots for next spring.
Are you walking in a Winter Wonderland yet?
A Frosty December Morning
Over the last couple weeks the weather has been much warmer than it should be, but now we're getting back to a much more normal December weather pattern. There was even the mention of snow in the forecast for next week. We'll see. I won't count my chickens but a little snow would make a nice scenery change! For now though we'll have to enjoy watching the ice crystals form on the vegetation. Here's a few pictures from this morning's heavy frost.
The blueberry plants that still have leaves are well frosted!
Catmint with frosted white leaf edges.
Even the grass looks cool - well of course it does - it's frost it has to be cool!
Shadows on the frosted grass.
There's the blue shed! There frost and shadows here too.
Yes it's December, it should be thyme for frost!
Is it cold where you are yet?
Weird and Wacky Winter Weather
Snow is falling in the northern parts of our country as we are experiencing record 75 degree temperatures in Middle Tennessee in December! The forecast goes down from here with even a possibility of snow in the future for the weekend. Strange weather! Mid 50's would not be surprising for this time of year but mid 70's? I guess it's one last taste of warm weather before the winter cold decides to stay put.
Ice Crystals on a Viburnum Leaf (Photo)
To put it simply: it's darn cold outside!
The frost pocket that is our backyard was down to 5.9 degrees F!
The First Snowfall of 2011
Technically my title is completely incorrect! We did have snow in January and February but this is the first snowfall of the coming winter season. And technically this isn't even officially winter yet. I'm just breaking all the rules for this post! I'm going wild!
Anyway...yesterday we had a light snowfall. It was the kind of snow that was so wet that when contact was made with the ground it quickly melted into regular old H20. What snow coverage we had on the grassy areas didn't last long as the air temps were too warm to maintain the frozen precipitation. Despite its brevity the snow was pretty!
I suspect we'll have more snow this year than in previous years. I've heard our winter I supposed to be wetter! Good thing I bought sleds!
Anyway...yesterday we had a light snowfall. It was the kind of snow that was so wet that when contact was made with the ground it quickly melted into regular old H20. What snow coverage we had on the grassy areas didn't last long as the air temps were too warm to maintain the frozen precipitation. Despite its brevity the snow was pretty!
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| Snow on pot of pak choy. |
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| Snow on deck. |
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| Snow on chives and blue fescue pot. |
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| Snow on pyracantha branch. Almost looks like ice. |
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| The backyard with snow. |
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| The Blue Garden Shed with snow! |
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| Grassy area shielded from snow by a butterfly bush. |
I suspect we'll have more snow this year than in previous years. I've heard our winter I supposed to be wetter! Good thing I bought sleds!
Have you had your first snowfall yet?
December Skyscapes
A view of our southern sky with the skeletal tree branches making an interesting skyline.
A sunset with dark red clouds reflecting the light of the western sun.
Chilly Week Ahead - Warm Weeks Behind
Today is the Monday morning of what promises to be the coldest week of the Fall/Winter season 2010. The temperatures are predicted to be in the 30's for highs and teens for lows with is about 15-20 degrees colder than the normal temperatures. I thought I would take a moment with this post and tomorrow's post and think about those warmer days from the spring and summer that make us gardeners excited to be outdoors soaking up that vitamin D! (click on any of the pictures or links to see the original posts)
March 2010 - The first daffodils in began blooming. In contrast the daffodil foliage in some areas of the yard are beginning to peek out of the soil - hope of things to come!
April 2010 - The garden in April is always full of blooms. Tulips line our from walkway and the Yoshino cherry is covered in blossoms. In contrast today everything is bare although I did plant pansies where the tulips are for some cool season color.
May 2010 - May brings more awesome blossoms to the eye. Catmint and achillea are a great combination, and the Irises look pretty good too! May is also the time of the salvias in our garden! The beginning of May also brought us more water than we could handle in the form of flooding rains.
June 2010 - The beginning of summer! I miss those warm days already. Coneflowers and many others were nourishing the pollinators and the vegetable garden was producing tomatoes! I miss those fresh from the garden tomatoes too!
I'll continue with more warmer days tomorrow! How's the weather in your garden?
March 2010 - The first daffodils in began blooming. In contrast the daffodil foliage in some areas of the yard are beginning to peek out of the soil - hope of things to come!
April 2010 - The garden in April is always full of blooms. Tulips line our from walkway and the Yoshino cherry is covered in blossoms. In contrast today everything is bare although I did plant pansies where the tulips are for some cool season color.
May 2010 - May brings more awesome blossoms to the eye. Catmint and achillea are a great combination, and the Irises look pretty good too! May is also the time of the salvias in our garden! The beginning of May also brought us more water than we could handle in the form of flooding rains.
June 2010 - The beginning of summer! I miss those warm days already. Coneflowers and many others were nourishing the pollinators and the vegetable garden was producing tomatoes! I miss those fresh from the garden tomatoes too!
I'll continue with more warmer days tomorrow! How's the weather in your garden?
2007 Gardening Season
Summer of 2007 has been a tough one for gardening in Tennessee. We had a major shock in the spring with warm temperatures then a harsh freeze that killed and crippled many plants in our region. Then to add insult to injury we experienced drought and extreme temperatures. Hopefully with fall arriving and cooler temperatures we'll get more water to help improve our drought.
Tinges of Red
You can see it in the tree line in the backyard. Tinges of red coloring in the foliage of the trees, the sassafras never fails for fall color. We're not at peak yet, at least I don't think so but I'm afraid this year will be hard to tell. The dryness of the last two months has stressed the trees to the point that I'm just hoping their recover for spring. Many of the trees are losing their leaves due to the wilting process which turns the leaves brown then they fall from the trees without ever reaching their full color potential. It's almost like the trees have said "I'm too tired to keep going through this heat. I think I'll go to sleep now and maybe spring will be better."
We've finally gotten some badly needed rainfall which came in the form of lightning and thunderstorms yesterday. I've always found lightning rather fun and amazing to watch, it's like Mother Nature's own fireworks display. We totaled 0.46 inches yesterday and are hoping for more today and maybe now I'll finally be able to get my grass seed on the lawn (I try not to water and usually put it on before a rain instead). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this fall still has the potential for some bright and beautiful fall foliage!
We've finally gotten some badly needed rainfall which came in the form of lightning and thunderstorms yesterday. I've always found lightning rather fun and amazing to watch, it's like Mother Nature's own fireworks display. We totaled 0.46 inches yesterday and are hoping for more today and maybe now I'll finally be able to get my grass seed on the lawn (I try not to water and usually put it on before a rain instead). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this fall still has the potential for some bright and beautiful fall foliage!
I'll have a Fall Color Project Post for this Friday but here are some links just in case you can't wait:
I'm posting these links over in the Facebook The Home Garden Page as they come in so if you need your Fall Color Fix right away be sure to follow THG on Facebook!
A Bit Rough Around the Edges
One spot that is looking a little rough is out by the garden shed. I cleaned up the garden the other day but the perennials present are a little worse for wear. The rains knocked the Russian sage around a bit while the Shasta daisy in front was suffering from the three week drought period. Brown petals are a sure sign of not enough water! This garden is way too far in the back to conveniently run hoses or haul buckets of water. I deadheaded and hopefully the Shasta daisy will soon be nice and happy. The rudbeckia never seems to have any trouble!
The weather isn't the only thing that has caused the garden to appear worse for wear. Japanese beetles seem to have a found a fondness for our crape myrtles. I think next year I'll companion plant our crape myrtles with 4 O'Clocks which are poisonous and irresistible to Japanese beetles.
The garden isn't the only thing that appears rough around the edges. Just look at this bumblebee attempting to dry itself out on a Viburnum leaf.
The situation is much the same for this Carolina wren preening on our back deck. Although for some reason I think these creatures welcomed the rain, but maybe that was just me!
