The 'Big Freeze' continues. Today himself was waxing lyrical about the formation of the ice crystals on the greenhouse. "Look you can see flowers and trees - why don't you take some photos!" he said excitedly, whilst I was frantically checking the health of its winter residents and muttering under my breath. The orlaya grandiflora, ammi visigna,'Meteor' peas and a fluffy grass that I had sown in early autumn are looking most melancholy. They had been well wrapped with horticultural fleece and looked alert when I last peeked at them at the weekend. I stuck my fingers into the compost this afternoon and met with resistance - the compost in the cell trays was completely frozen :( I have bought them indoors into the presently unheated dining room on the basis that a gentle warming up might revive them but I am not too optimistic. Why did I not do this a couple of days ago? As to the other side of the greenhouse I must have had a premonition and switched the heated sand bench on a while ago so the sweet peas appear not to have suffered. Normally the greenhouse would have been more full but as there was a gap between old one being dismantled and new one being put up, I did not take any cuttings to overwinter.
On to more happy matters. I've had the great privilege of being asked to be a contributor to Teza's Garden Forum which will be posted on the 7th of each month. Here Teza from - Teza's Garden, Alice - Bay Area Tendrils, Deborah - Green Theatre , Grace - Gardening With Grace, Joy -GardenJoy4Me and myself will be chatting about a range of garden related subjects over the coming months. It promises to be great fun so thank you Teza for the invitation to the party! I am now off to find my specs so that I can have a good read of the first installment.
Hope you are still warm and snug and not too overwhelmed by snow. It has been a stunning day here, in an icy cold but sunlit way!
ReplyDeleteWow, you've gotten a lot of snow. I must point out what a good thing that is, in light of the cold you are also experiencing. Snow is such a great insulator.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the conditions in your greenhouse. I hope you won't have any losses.
It is too bad about your greenhouse guests Anna! I hope they will survive. I love your title and your photos so aptly and beautifully illustrate your point. Hope it warms up soon. Carol
ReplyDeleteAh! yes I have one of those husbands too who calls out for me to take a photo for my blog when I am busy doing something else. Still better than complaining that I am yet again at the computer!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of your frozen pots and hope a gentle warming does the trick.
What fun a new greenhouse to look forward to.
Anna:
ReplyDeleteAnd I have always taken a somewhat ignorant approach that a greenhouse is self sufficient in the winter. I too find it unbearably cold. I ended up moving one of my treasured Zonal Denial experiments away from the window in my room as a draft has been detected.... god-awful windy this past few nights. Thanks for all you do that leads to the success of Teza's Garden! Stay warm dearheart!
I hope it thaws out soon, Anna. And I'm glad you're joining the fun at Teza's.
ReplyDeleteThe only greenhouses I've had experience of are the ones at the hortic college I attended, and Botanic Gardens, which were all very large, consistently heated, and cooled and sprinkled as and when! So I would be stumped as to how to keep plants warm in winter!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading the posts at Teza's Garden Forum.
Hmmm, I haven't checked the plants in my greenhouse yet. I only have some plants in there which are overwintering so they are covered in fleece. I do this every winter, but we haven't had such low temperatures in previous years so I don't know how they'll fare this year.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, we so enjoyed yours and the others contributions at Teza's forum! Your winter seems so harsh this time, hope your plants and seedlings can withstand the cold. Especially the sweet peas, a favorite of mine. :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
I hope your sweet peas survive and you don't suffer too many losses in the greenhouse Anna. I'm resigned to starting over in spring. I look forward to reading the posts at Teza's Garden Forum!
ReplyDeleteStay warm. Jeanne x
This year we have lots of icicles - something I have rarely seen before. My greenhouse has a heater in to keep it above freezing but it has still managed to get below -1C.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I went into the garage to pot up some Tulip bulbs I got in a sale and discovered the bag of compost was frozen except for a narrow column in the centre. I'm consoling myself with the thought of lots of overwintering pests being killed off!
Wow, I hope your plants are Ok and recover indoors... I know this weather isn't normal for you and the plants aren't used to it!
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful that I forgot to sow my sweet peas in the Autumn.
ReplyDeleteWe lost 4 panes of glass in the greenhouse due to high winds last week already I am depressed about my plans for the summer :(
Your Gardening Forum with Teza will be an interesting read I am looking forward to it.
K