Three years, the first of which was the glorious spring of lockdown (best), then last year’s cold drear spring (worst) and now this year (middling).
Three years in the garden – on this date
5 Replies to “Three years in the garden – on this date”
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Yes, I agree with your analysis of recent springs Mark. This spring is certainly not a particularly early one. I had my first real good number of orange tip butterflies mid week and some green hairstreaks. The migrant birds have only just start to arrive in significant numbers eg willow warblers. However it is really good to see them. What a contrast when seeing and hearing them from the crazy comment from a Tory minister that “the countryside is for business.” What an awful, dreadful attitude
Years ago when Victoria Wood was doing a telly segment on how special libraries are she mentioned another Tory MP who at the time said ‘what’s so special about books?’ For all the trappings of heritage, culture and the high class they like to drape themselves with they are the party of the Barbarians At The Gates.
Shouldn’t we try to appreciate all kinds of weather? If it was always wall to wall sunshine England would be a desert, not the green and pleasant land it could and should be.
I wouldn’t mind the temperature getting a bit warmer, back to what it was a few thousand years ago between now and the end of the last ice age when European pond terrapins and the water chestnut survived in southern England. Clearly more cold adapted species such as the ptarmigan and capercaillie managed to hang on (although we possibly lost some arctic/alpine butterflies) though so we must have had a richer native fauna and flora than today. Were species like glossy ibis and bee eaters regular breeders then, did we have more thermophilus butterflies and moths resident here? A bit of climactic amelioration is not necessarily the same thing as the beginning of runaway climate change so personally I’ll be glad to see a bit of an uptick in summer temperatures and hold back for now on climate panic which some don’t. You’re right, we moan about how much rain we get, but the country just wouldn’t be so beautifully green if we didn’t – the south east corner of Spain is a parched, over grazed uber wasteland without it, no thanks!
The weather last spring and summer has the most influence on floriferousnessness of many shrubs and trees this year.
Or whether you prune them at the wrong time, which always falls when you think they need pruning. The dilemma is – do you want lots of lovely blossom for a few days next year or a crab apple tree whose shape annoys you for 360 days of the year