Weather winter 2011-12

[Hoy]

So the water is let out by low tide and the dikes are shut by high tide?

[jomowi]

we were hit by high winds again over night.

Another question - why do the high winds always strike at night?

Not necessarily the case, Mark.  Tuesday's gale and the one in December were worst here during the day.  On Tuesday, I watched 3 neighbours battling to stop a garage roof taking off.  It now sports 3 sand bags on top which saved it, luckily, because if they had failed it would have come my way.  I have lost count of the number of trees down on my travels locally.

[Anthony Darby]

A friend from Linlithgow sent me a pic of a huge tree fallen across Friars Brae, round the corner from her.

[angie]

No wind in the dome at the Eden project today  and when we got to the lost gardens of Heligan it was just a bit breezy. A man said to us before we went on our walk to be careful going through the wooded area as it was really windy. I replied this is just a breeze to us we are used to really windy weather up in Scotland.
Had a great day, exhausted though. My hubby has always got to see what else lies around the cornet and by the time we had left Heligan it was really dark. I thought I might have got lost in what they call the jungle.  The man that we met said how do you manage to garden in such a cold climate and how do you manage to get around in all that snow. I replied we are a hardy bunch us Scots, he laughed. More exploring tomorrow.

Angie 

[Panu]

Still waiting (not really) for the cold weather. The minimum temp is -11^oC for this winter. Snow cover is quite normal, +30 cm. Day is still short, about 4,5 h.

[Maggi Young]

More bad news for alpine plants:

Dr Michael Gottfried, from the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (Gloria) programme, said: "We expected to find a greater number of warm-loving plants at higher altitudes, but we did not expect to find such a significant change in such a short space of time.

"Many cold-loving species are literally running out of mountain. In some of the lower mountains in Europe we could see alpine meadows disappearing and dwarf shrubs taking over within the next few decades."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/cold-loving-alpine-plants-risk-180649012.html

[mark smyth]

It's been so mild here that yesterday and today I've had no heat on in the car

[David Nicholson]

Been very mild here (and wet as usual) but very low light levels with low cloud until today! Blue sky (just to prove there is a sun!) and the promise of frost by morning.

[Neil]

Have yet to have a frost here, this winter though that could change by Friday morning.

[Lina Hesseling]

Angie, I would love to hear more about your visit to Heligan Garden.
It must have been more then ten years ago, that I borrowed the book 'Lost Gardens of Heligan' in the library. It was love at first sight. When I found the dutch translation of the book, just a few years ago, I bought it of course an read it again. It is as if you are in the middle of a great adventure when you read the story of the restoration of the gardens.
When I viseted Devon and Cornwall 20 years ago, it was still a ruin and nobody was aware about the treasure hidden there. Or maybe just a few. We did visit Rosemoore Gardens, Castle Drogo and a very nice Private garden with a collection of Magnolia's. I would love to go there again and visit Heligan and more of the beautifully gardens you can find there.

Lina.

[angie]

Hi Lina

I enjoyed the gardens just a pity about the time of year that I visited the garden. Still it got me excited thinking of the overgrown garden and the enjoyment that would have unfolded when something new was discovered. it is a must that I go back in the summer for a visit.

It was so nice to see the garden brought back to life and there for all to see again. My husband took a few pictures, sorry about the quality  but he was in charge of the picture taking on that day. My favourite picture was in the potting shed, all those lovely terracotta pots stacked so neatly, would it have been like that all those years ago when gardeners like me were using the pots. I also liked the area that they called the jungle. It was so sheltered and I had never seen so much tree ferns. Just wish I had seen the garden before they started the restoration.

You must go and see the garden there is something magical about it.

[angie]

some more.

[Maggi Young]

A few years ago there was a programme or perhaps a small series of  TV programmes about  the Lost Garden of Heligan... it may be possible to find them on DVD   

[Lina Hesseling]

Thank you Angie for showing us your pictures. Tomorrow I will open my book and see if I can find the pictures of the situation before the restoration.

The last picture of the sleeping lady looks like the one I saw at Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago. I loved it. I 'll try to find a picture of her and post it.

This program on tv must have been great, Maggi.

Lina.

[Maggi Young]

Hmm... thought the Gardens might have a shop... they do... thought they might sell the DVDs... they do!
http://www.heliganshop.com/search.asp?types=yes&type=LIBRARY+%3E