January 2016 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Gabriela]

Here're some new Helleborus hybrids from Thierry Delabroye.

Gonna post lot's of more next wek end. Just a teasing 

This is BIG teasing  Rarely I see orangey forms plus that my favourites are the anemone center Hellebores!

[Peppa]

Here're some new Helleborus hybrids from Thierry Delabroye.

Gonna post lot's of more next wek end. Just a teasing 

Their apricot Hellebore line is very nice and quite distinctive! I love them!

Here in the PNW, it's wet and dark but my Hellebores are starting to bloom, along with some of my Asarum.

[Maggi Young]

The Delabroye Hellebores are stunning - must look to see when you've shown us pix from your visits in previous years , Yann - surely this seems very  early?

Peppa, - Asarum flowering too?  What a year this seems to be  shaping up to!

[Yann]

The plants are grown under polytunnels so they're very early and we don't yet have frost.

[Hoy]

We had some cold days and then snow. The cold before the snow resulted in frozen soil and then the snow is still lying in stead of melting although the temperature is around 0^oC. We are expecting more snow this night and more cold which means we have the most wintery winter for many years!

Seedtrays under snow.




Resting rhododendron.




Big flocks of birds have eaten all the red ilex berries but barely touched the yellow ones.




Footprints of roe deer. I have a family in the garden but I see only the track of them and the browsed shrubs.

[Hoy]

Helleborus foetidus




Rock garden.




Shed roof.




The Vanda orchid is not outside now! I have it outside or in the greenhouse during summer and in the sittingroom in winter. It flowers every year (4th time now).

[Gabriela]

We had some cold days and then snow. The cold before the snow resulted in frozen soil and then the snow is still lying in stead of melting although the temperature is around 0^oC. We are expecting more snow this night and more cold which means we have the most wintery winter for many years!

I am glad you finally got some snow! Everything looks so wonderful with the white coating 
Interesting why they wouldn't eat the yellow Ilex berries - could it be just because the colour?

[Robert]

A scene from the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada very near the Sacramento Valley, California (just over the hill). It appears the rains are finally arriving and the hills are turning green. An atmospheric river is to arrive Sunday into Monday (very El Nino like). This may bring us to average or maybe above average precipitation to date.



Higher up the mountain - Jenkinson Reservoir. The reservoir level has not moved much in the past 2 - 3 weeks. Jenkinson Reservoir is at 3,500 feet (1,067 meters). Most of the precipitation at this elevation, and above, has fallen as snow. As this is our main source of drinking and irrigation water we are very concerned about the water level.

In the distance is the Crystal Range. 2-3 meters of snow up there! We have not seen this in many years. A very welcome sight.

[Yann]

What a landscape!

[Gabriela]

That view of the snowy Crystal Range must be very promising!

[Robert]

Trond,

For me the snow always seems beautiful. How long might it last? Here at the farm the snow generally does not last long, but sometimes we can get snow for a week or so.

Yann,

Yes, I agree parts of California are extremely beautiful. I am very much looking forward to getting out soon - then many more photographs. 

Gabriela,

Yes, a very promising snow-pack. If the next storm materializes we could have over 4-5 meters of snow on the Sierra Crest. This is nothing. In a good year there could be 7 meters of snow on the ground. Some of it is still remaining when the late Autumn snow starts to fall again. This would be a great blessing for us.

[Hoy]

I am glad you finally got some snow! Everything looks so wonderful with the white coating 
Interesting why they wouldn't eat the yellow Ilex berries - could it be just because the colour?

I would like much more! We had -9.5C last night and it is the coldest for several years. Under shrubs and trees it is no snow at all

Regarding the ilex berries I think it is only the colour that matters. The red ones are all gone! (I find seedlings under every tree in my woodland.)

[Hoy]

Trond,

For me the snow always seems beautiful. How long might it last? Here at the farm the snow generally does not last long, but sometimes we can get snow for a week or so.

We are expecting mild weather from Thursday so the snow will certainly disappear during next weekend.
Sometimes the snow lasts only a couple of hours and sometimes it lasts a couple of months!When it is cold the weather is usually very dry too.


Robert, your last pictures look like April spring here!

[Robert]

We are expecting mild weather from Thursday so the snow will certainly disappear during next weekend.
Sometimes the snow lasts only a couple of hours and sometimes it lasts a couple of months!When it is cold the weather is usually very dry too.


Robert, your last pictures look like April spring here!

Trond,

The weather has certainly turned mild the last few days. With good rainfall it is amazing how quickly the grasses grows - almost like over night.

We had a little over 26 mm of rain last night and are near average to-date for our precipitation. Everything looks flooded with water running off everywhere - it is nice to see this.

Most of the "natives" are up and growing now - including the Dodecatheons - their seedlings are sprouting too.  One of the last to emerge are the Erythroniums. With the wet and stormy weather there is not much to report on from the garden, however it is mid-January and the early Arctostaphylos will start blooming any day now.

There should be good action in the garden by February - with fits and starts of coarse. 

We can still get snow here at the farm until the 1 April. I remember the April Fools Snowstorm, way back, when we had about 15 cm of snow. That was a mess! The trees had started to leaf out and there were many broken branches. One could hear the limbs snap all night as the snow accumulated.

[Hoy]

Robert,

Not much green here at the moment. Neither natives nor exotics show signs of growth! We got another 1/2′ of snow today. It looks great at the moment but will not last