The primulas, I can understand. For all their delicate beauty, they are hardy little souls and are happy to flower in winter, even poking their petals through the snow. But, for the rest of my son’s newly planted garden, there is no such simple explanation. Maybe, having spent the whole summer and autumn contending with building work last year, it decided it couldn’t face the exigencies of winter too and thought it would give it a miss.
I would have expected, by now, to be left with just the evergreens, adding their own touches of colour to a pale and wintry world.
But, while the weather forecasters speak of Arctic temperatures and winter gales, Nature is busy doing her own thing. Anemones that were planted as spring flowers, due to blossom between April and May, decided to start opening in December. Perhaps, I thought, it was just one confused rogue corm that had taken the initiative? But no, they are all at it now and show no sign of stopping, just because it is only January.
The roses are happily blooming away, with an array of buds waiting in the wings… and are already being attacked by clusters of aphids that should have been cosily invisible by now. New growth is appearing on all the newly planted shrubs and rose bushes and the spring bulbs are coming up apace.
The green stars of crocus leaves, their central buds already visible, are not as surprising as the hyacinths… though at least one of those will struggle as its flower bud has been eaten by unseasonable insects. Caterpillars are still about, happily munching their way through the violas and pansies… and yesterday, I saw both a bee and a butterfly.
Even the fish in the pond, who should be in a state akin to suspended animation at this time of year, are swimming around and demanding to be fed…
I, personally, will not complain if my heating bills are lower than usual this winter or if my fingers do not turn black with cold. And I can’t see the small birds complaining either at the unexpected abundance of food that is keeping them away from the bird feeders. But I do worry about how their young, born too early, will fare if the predicted cold snap materialises.
Nature, though, moves at her own pace. We may force growth under glass, but we cannot control the seasons and they take no notice of our neat little calendars and expectations. Just because we dream of, or worry about, snow in winter, there is nothing to stop it snowing in June as it has in the past. And there is not a thing we can do about it. So, if the garden has decided that spring will come early… all we can do is enjoy it. And keep the bird feeders filled and ready…
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Climate change. It was 74 degrees today, typical temps for the middle or beginning of June. And the birds are changing into breeding colors. I just hope they don’t breed and then we have a long cold snap and a blizzard.
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I’m hoping the same here too.
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Global warming?
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Whatever the cause, it fels odd.
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It is happening all over the globe.
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I know.
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🧐
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It’s freezing here so I envy you…. Many days it doesn’t get above 0 all day and it’s dark all of the time… I can’t wait for a sign of spring.
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We’ve barely had a frost here…
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I long for my days in Texas – no winter at all… summer all year long with 2-3 cold days in February. Perfection. But if the UK stays the way it is…. maybe I will come home cos I cannot stand the cold and the dark (I get SAD in the winter).
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Now, in Vichy, I really missed the snowy winters of the north after a few years. Till the last one I was there, when it froze all the underground pipes for weeks…
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I wonder if all that TLC that Nick’s new garden received last year, has created more than a little magic?
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It eems to have done so 🙂
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It’s lovely you and Nick can enjoy some garden colour in this (usually) dreichest of months but it is unsettling.
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It is a sheltered little spot, and in town, so much warmer than out at my place, but there weather got a lot colder today…
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We have gales and downpours today – so dark we’ve needed lights on all day.
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It is cold and wet out at my place. The dog still has the door open though…
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Fortunately my cat shares my views on the weather and is curled up in a tight ball of fur on the sofa. An occasional glance at the rain battering on the window confirms her decision there is no way she’s going outside.
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Ani has a perfect position…in her eyes at least. On the threshold of the French window… laying on the rug inside with just her nose outside.
I have a blanket 😉
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We’ve got buds on the daffodils. The hazel catkins are hanging their lambs tails. All fully formed, not just sprouting, and a neighbou’s magnolia tree is thinking about comimg out.
The seasons are all to pot. Remember how cold it was here in the UK in June?
But we should not call it Global Warming, but Climate Change. Due to the changes in atmospheric movements due to heating of the air and oceans, strange things are happening. Some places will get hotter, yes, but some will get colder. Some places will get wetter and others drier. And, because of more energy in the atmosphere, it will most likely get windier. We’ve experienced that in the UK, and there are more and stronger hurricanes and cyclones.
And if the gulf stream moves, the UK will be significantly colder. We only have the mild climate we do because of its warming influence.
But it’s still nice and uplifting to see the spring flowers.
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I enjoyed even this little interlude of springlike weather, but I am not counting on it hanging around. The climate does appear to be changing… but it has done so before and will do so again.
Whether it is a natural shift or not, though, should not stop us seeking for ways to be kinder to our planet.
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It is unsettling, yet your photographs are beautiful, Sue. It is lovely that all the fruits of your loving labour are showing in Nick’s garden. ❤
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It may simply be that it is now such a sheltered little spot. But it is lovely to watch it growing day by day.
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❤
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Amazing! And beautiful. Your son has a magic garden it seems. Perhaps a reward for all the back breaking work you did on it Sue. Enjoy it!
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Enough care has been lavished upon it, Fransi, that I think Nick sees it as a reward 🙂
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I agree with Nick.
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🙂
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Even with an early cold spell in November, that reminded me of long ago Februarys and bizzards at the same time, I am still amazed, now, in January, to ocassionally step out and find as I pull my truck from the parking place, some hardy prairie grass, still with a green shade to it – :). Ahh – by the time one lived long enough to grasp all the cycles of Mother nature, AND to determine, fully, what climate changes have occurred – one would probably be too old/blind to see the calendar to mark a date – – LOL – – I have given up trying to ‘time things’ properly – as, you observed, Mother Nature does her own thing, anyhoo – 🙂
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She does. But your words remind me how lucky we are here to have a green country all year round.
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:). Yes – while there is a beauty, here, of the golden waves of grain, in late summer/harvest time and a stillness to the world in the winter, blanketed landscape – there are times where the browns and grays stretch – from earth to the heavens, and here, as we enter the ‘dark days of winter’ there sometimes is the great yearning to see something not devoid of color – in Colorado, at least, we often get a brilliant white blue in cold sky, to make up for the sepia landscape below – while hearts yearn for the richness of warm, wet, brown earth of spring planting and the greens of spring, followed by the rainbow of summer – – sigh – – I’m working through my seed order – to get it within budget – and find myself looking more to perennials – while I have ‘ever greens’ on my place – and appreciate them – there are times during each winter when the cold blue of the sky, their deep green needles, do not lift me as much as my excitement over the first signs the perennials are ‘waking up once more’ – 🙂
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I daren’t look at plant catalogues these days… the urge to make a garden will have to wait a bit longer 😉
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:). I shouldn’t be – I’ve a gazillion other things I ‘should’ be doing, instead – but, as I’m in the space of ‘dark winter of the soul’ it seemed fitting to do so – Mother Nature, even when looking at prime time pics of last year’s harvest – always heals me better than anything else and not at a spot where venturing outside for extended period will do – 😀
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I can understand that completely 😉
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In fact – ahem – the seed order is refined – budget cut so I can place order this week and scrimp in other areas the next 8-12 weeks, and now? I’m just ‘commenting/reading/connecting’ with others, here – sigh – – obviously – either I’m procrastinating, taking a vacation or dropping the ball – on certain fronts – suppers for the week mapped out and today’s already started – and only 2 hours of actual ‘earning work’ under my belt – sigh – sigh – sigh – but, I have appreciated my time here this a.m. – I’m heartsore and it is lessening and more creative solutions presenting as I ‘waste time’ on various fronts – in the end – pondering while connecting or planning for future harvests has to be more productive than ‘pondering while playing solitaire’ – – right? LOL. Thank god I only have two social media accounts and don’t have them ‘always logged in’ on – LOL.
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Sometimes ‘wasting time’ is the best way forward. It gives time to think creatively 😉
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or to daydream about what daily life you can live with would look like – – I’m picturing writing in the dark and playing in the dirt during light – LOL
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And why not 🙂
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The longer I spend here, connecting, the more I’m saying the same – and thus far, nothing has arrived via email reminding me the electric bill is due in x days or what have ya – – LOL
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I wish I could say the same 😉
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:). oh, I just have to wait for another few days and the next round of ‘new dates’ will show up again – :D. I seriously thought I would have quiet day on Christmas – but don’t ya know? It was on a Wednesday and I received the usual Wednesday hailings, reminders PLUS the ‘well, you missed getting it for Christmas, but here ya go – “buy, buy, buy emails – in fact, that wednesday was one of the largest email crap Wednesday’s I’ve experienced in awhile – – sigh
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I was lucky… they forgot to pay me, so I hadn’t a penny to be tempted by anything in the Christmas or new year sales 😉
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Thats one way to look at it. Lol. Mire and more folks forget to pay me to. Alas guess the auto reminders are there for reason. Lol
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🙂
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My planters are the same Sue, for all the shite they have faced this winter from being drowned in water and little sunshine, the mini cyclamens and the primroses are as happy as Larry.. and have kept me cheerful despite the weather.. xxx
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They do lift even the dullest day 🙂 xx
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We must have ESP, because I was just wondering only a day or so ago about Nick’s garden. No coincidences! 😉
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No…no coincidences 😉
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Sue, even if these plants are coming up way ahead of their schedule, they are all so lovely. They are a breath of fresh ar. ❤
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I am reallyenjoying watching my son’s new garden come to life, Carol 🙂
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Wow, gorgeous!!! Your garden is blooming with spring in January! Will you be sweating soon? Lol 🙂 xx
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More likely, with British weather, that a freeze is on the way 😉 xx
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Oh no! The poor flowers. 😦 xx
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Rain, gales and grey skies today 😉 x
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Life and nature always does as it chooses ! 💜💜
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That is part of its beauty ❤
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Yes indeed it is 💜
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Sue, your descriptions are just so nice–visual, detailed, with opinions sprinkled into them dramatically.
Best wishes,
David
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Thank you, David.
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Sue, it’s not just there, but here too. Like you, our heating bills are much lower so far this year. ❤️
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Nature is changing…
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Beautiful photos and sentiments. Yes, in the end, all we can do is to enjoy the beauty as we are presented with it. And even rejoice, in our way. ❤
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