Spring Weather

[David Nicholson]

I thought summer had arrived yesterday but no, it's a miserable day today.  I blame David and his shading of his greenhouse 

....... and another beautiful morning

[Roma]

Dull here again and not very warm.  Some rain last night but not enough to really wet the ground which is very dry.   

[angie]

....... and another beautiful morning

Not here  no wind so I suppose thats something.

Angie 

[David Nicholson]

75F (in old money) this afternoon, I'm blathered!

[Hoy]

Don't boast, David! I also have 75F - inside my greenhouse

Outside the air is cold although we have some sun these days. 25% of southern Norway is still snow covered (usually only 5% is (the highest mountains)). No roses has opened yet and the rhododendrons last for ages.

[Robert]

And here in sunny California its, well, sunny and warm.

The high today was 95 F (35 C). Around here, 35 C is considered "warm".  "Hot" is 38 C or more. The temperatures will remain in the 90's F to over 100 F until mid September. We will not expect any rainfall until mid - October.

"Resort" weather is 26 C. We do not get much, if any, of that during the summer.

At one time I detested gardening with the dry and heat. The flowers did not last and generally looked faded. The foliage on many plants looked tired by mid August. Now I enjoy gardening with the dry and heat. I enjoy having the garden look fantastic (highly subjective!), and with the least amount of irrigation as possible. It is a great challenge - lots of fun. 

[Tim Ingram]

I go with that Robert - our lawn is gradually turning brown and we have had very little rain over the past month, but this is common in N. Kent where we are and the garden has been planted with drought tolerant species since the 1980's after getting inspiration from visiting Beth Chatto's garden in Essex. The garden gains its own character by tuning in to the long term local climate and the ability of many plants to tolerate and thrive in such conditions is enlightening.

Here are just a few examples:

A mixed planting of cistus, euphorbias and callistemon under a eucalyptus.
A variegated wallflower (which has been flowering for weeks on end) with Glaucium grandiflorum.
Rhodanthemum 'African Eyes' and Lithodora oleifolia in the sand bed.
The amazing S.W.European umbel Thapsia maxima.
And in a friend's garden tucked up in a warm and protected spot next to her house, the Californian sage S. apiana.

So much scope to grow plants that suit these conditions!

[Chris Johnson]

Very nice, Tim. It just shows what can be achieved when you grow according to local conditions.

[Robert]

Tim,

I enjoyed the photographs. Nice to see some "old friends" in your garden too.  Arctostaphylos, Cistus, Genista, Phlomis, Salvia, Thymus, Origanum, etc. make up some of our old plantings - still thriving after 30 or more years.

Even so, we have only touched the tip of the many plants to try in the garden.

[Yann]

and here after 4 weeks without a water drop, it's finally raining.
It was really dry and warm, even the Achillea x huteri i bought to you Tim died under the sun.

In the greenhouse, i also had to cover Crocus pots with a roof insulation to reduce temperature in the substrat.

Some onco and tulips that need to be baked are certainly happy with such regime.