Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: David Nicholson on March 26, 2016, 08:14:38 PM
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The last fortnight has been mainly quite nice. With high pressure in charge there have been some lovely days as well as a few grey-misty ones. Friday (yesterday) was very pleasant and I was able to garden quite comfortably in just a tea-shirt. I did have trousers on as well I hasten to add, didn't want to frighten the horses!
Today was back to normal. Easter, whatever time of year it happens to occur, is frequently and famously bad here and one wonders why so many people brave our equally famous British third-world quality motorway system to descend on Devon and Cornwall. Yesterday it took Mrs N no less than an hour and a half to journey from home to our daughter's home just over the bridge in Cornwall (about 18 miles).
So today, howling gale (though not as bad as we are promised for Monday when Storm Katie blasts in ) and heavy rain for most of the day. Sunday, heavy showers on and off for most of the day. Monday....... who knows?????
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In like a lamb out like a lion.
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As I remember it it wasn't so lamb-like when it came in.
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Woke up Saturday morning and had a quarter inch of rain overnight.
Got up this morning and found this! 4 inches of snow.
John B
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A white Easter John, we in the uk were threatened with one of those, but the weathermen got it wrong thankfully. Instead it is sunny, but windy thanks to Katie😠
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Some rain yesterday and very windy. Dry today and windy but not so bad.
Only casualty of last night's strong winds Cardiocrinum giganteum. It should have been removed by this time anyway.
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You must have got plenty of seeds looking at all the opened pods Roma?
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Didn't get round to collecting it, John. It ripens too late for the seed exchanges and I usually have enough young offset bulbs coming on so do not bother sowing any. I did sow seed for the first time 2 years ago ( I think ) but no sign of germination. I did get 2 germinate in other pots previously. Some seed had fallen into the bag of grit which I was using to top dress seed pots and I did not remove it all when I used the grit.
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Oh not so bad then, the main bulb dies after flowering doesn't it?
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What on earth is happening weather wise this spring? I know we can have frosts in April, but this late in April? If that wasn't bad enough, today we have had a thunderstorm with halestones, ongoing as I write this.
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Yup, we've been getting that weather for the last few days, John- it is quite horrible. Luckily isn't doing too much damage to the Erythroniums but some Rhodo flowers are getting hammered. :'(
It's darned unpleasant for the gardeners, too. >:(
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You was quick off the ball there maggi :) yes it's not good for going out in, I was feeding the poultry and it was stinging my face. Not too much damage here either thank goodness.
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If I were a chicken I wouldn't be laying any eggs in this weather, John , no matter how much you fed me!
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been snowing here today and now the sun is out
1st rhodohypoxis flower is out in one of the tunnels - seems a bit early
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I only have good girls among my birds maggi, I feed them and they give me hen and duck eggs. The only trouble I have is with the Guinea fowl, they hide there eggs, didn't find them today. The thunder storm has now gone and the hailstones have turned to sleety snow.
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been snowing here today and now the sun is out
1st rhodohypoxis flower is out in one of the tunnels - seems a bit early
Other people ( not us) always seemed to have Rhodohypoxis for the Aberdeen Show at around the mid-May mark - and that always seemed early to me! The pots had all been under cover of course, which none of ours were!
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My Grandad used to keep his guineafowl well fenced in to keep them from going off too far to hide their eggs - they're smart little cookies to do that though, eh? :D
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Other people ( not us) always seemed to have Rhodohypoxis for the Aberdeen Show at around the mid-May mark - and that always seemed early to me! The pots had all been under cover of course, which none of ours were!
Oops! I have not repotted or watered mine yet so I won't have any by mid-May this year.
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It'd be interesting to know how long it does take them from the repot and watering to flower though, Roma.....
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My Grandad used to keep his guineafowl well fenced in to keep them from going off too far to hide their eggs - they're smart little cookies to do that though, eh? :D
Too smart for my liking, great guard dogs though.
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My Grandad used to keep his guinea-fowl well fenced in to keep them from going off too far to hide their eggs - they're smart little cookies to do that though, eh? :D
Apparently great hunters of ticks and weevils of all sorts.
Bernard Jackson told me last week that pheasants here would lay their eggs amongst the native Allliums to avoid detection by scent. Smart birds except for the automobile grill marks.....
Weather has been chilly, a flurry of large snowflakes at supper time yesterday, 1/2" down and lasted overnight in shady spots and north-facing rooves. The Podos surprisingly perked up again by 10 am.
john
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I hope you lot are going to get your weather sorted out before we get over there next year after the Czech Conference! ;)
I think it was a "Not the nine o'clock News" skit which had 2 opposing politicians on a talk show with one of them saying "we had much more sunshine under a Labour Government" ;D ;D ;D
We are rejoicing in the half inch of rain we received today!
cheers
fermi
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Although we have had cold nights around 0C and a cold breeze from north the sun shone and the temperature increased considerably during the day. Now we have gotten milder weather but rain :-\
It is still snowing higher up and they're striving to open some of the mountain roads which are closed during winter:
http://www.nrk.no/mr/se-den-spektakulaere-broytevideoen-1.12921983 (http://www.nrk.no/mr/se-den-spektakulaere-broytevideoen-1.12921983)
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April showers and a cold wind here today. My washing has been rinsed twice by the rain.
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Looking out of my window here at work I can see snow on the Knock Hill & Saline Hill as well as on the Ochils.
We had warmer days in December & January!
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Ah, your comment about snow on Knockhill brings back memories. I used to go motor racing at the Knockhill circuit in the 1970's, and it was always cold and wet there, even in the summer!
There is a silver lining to this extended cold period though. Many of the plants in the garden have flowered for much longer than usual. The erythroniums have been in bloom for ages, as have the narcissus. The downside is the damage that night frosts have done to many of the rhododendron flowers.
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I agree, loads of things are flowering for a long time. Also, cool weather means that lots of alpines are not being stressed at the start of the growing season, especially if they have been recently planted. Should be better for keeping growth nice and tight too. Maybe not so good for pollination though!
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A couple of pictures illustrating west coast weather.
The one of Arran was taken on Friday. Full winter gear was required on the coast at Hunterston when we were looking at a Raven's nest with 3 young ready to fledge.
The one of Ben Lomond was taken yesterday on our way back from Garelochead. We passed it at about 10:30 when it was dazzling white in the sunshine against a cloudless blue sky. I could not cross the flow of traffic so we stopped at about 16.00 on the way back. In the 5 hours when we first saw it, half the snow has disappeared. Testament to the strengthening power of sunshine at this time of year.
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Great pictures of Ben lomond Tom, I've passed that mountain many times in the past when I used go on walking holidays in the highlands. I've got a picture somewhere of myself at the top of Ben Nevis in July, there was snow on the ground and it was freezing cold, Nevis is of course a lot higher than lomond, but it felt strange, all those layers on in the middle of summer.
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My wife and I were last up Ben Lomond in 1964. I can remember I decided to come down via Ptarmigan hill and catch the Maid of the Loch at Rowardennan.
We descended straight down in a controlled crash and pushed through a forestry plantation to the main road. On our way down we flushed two Ptarmigans. Arriving at the road, we were over a mile from the pier and the Maid of the Loch was coming fast. It was like one of these brutal army forced marches. We had to run the distance to the pier with me dragging Cindy who had had enough. However the thought of paying for a 14 mile taxi journey to Balloch for the train or sleeping rough on the shore as we were skint ,plus the promise of a pint of lager on the boat, had the desired effect. We made it just as the boat was mooring up. Instead of a pint of lager each, we had two !
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You earned it tom by the sound of it.
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First went up Ben Lomond in 1992, or was it 1993? Came down and drank four pints of Draught Bass in short order in Drymen.
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That's my sort of climbing (the down bit, not the up) ;D
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When We came down from Ben Nevis I collected our certificates then had a sleep in the tents for an hour or so to recover, then had a few pints.
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You get certificates for Ben Nevis?
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That's my sort of climbing (the down bit, not the up) ;D
You'd be surprised David. The older I get the more I find coming down the problem (knees). Sticks help with shock-absorption.
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Ashley, I have to say it was Ralph's pints of Draught Bass that attracted me ;D
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Hi Ralph you did do in 2001 when We climbed it, I don't know if that's still the case though.
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When a friend of mine climbed Ben Cruachan, his last Munro, his friends took the beer to the top for the celebration. ;D
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Crossed the mountains on my way home yesterday. Although the thermometer showed 25C in th lowland it was just 5C up here and still a lot of snow.
The old road is not open yet. It is at least one month till you can drive here.
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The new road is always (or almost always) kept open all year.
[attachimg=2]
Somebody still go skiing!
[attachimg=3]
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Typical Devon Spring day here today. Grey, misty and chucking it down. It's the last day of the Devon County Show today and I doubt if the sun has graced it with it's presence on either of the three days, again fairly typical :(
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Variable day here - sun earlier and now clouds crossing which may have rain in them - I'm not bothered- it's a beautiful day in the Dolomites and Il Giro cycle race is on TV!
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A little gentle rain today - for the 3rd day in row - but it was getting pretty dry so I do not complain! The next week will be very warm and dry if the forecast is right.
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Sun peeped out about 1845, rest of the day was total dreich. Be watching the Giro highlights later.
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Sun peeped out about 1845, rest of the day was total dreich. Be watching the Giro highlights later.
171 years without sun :o ;)
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171 years without sun :o ;)
;D ;D ;D Well it feels like that.