I didn't notice at first that Saturday's chilly conditions were a sort of record for my weather station. The average temperature on Saturday was a rather pathetic 4.8°C (40.6°F) despite some decent sunny spells.
That's the coldest average daily temperature so far into the year over the last seven years. The temperature on Sunday morning fell to 0.7°C (33.3°F) although that's not unusually cold for the middle of April.
Our latest frosts dates over the last few years are 06 May 2012 when the temperature fell to -1.0°C (30.2°F) and 16 May 2013 with 3.1°C (37.6°F).
I notice the forecasters are suggesting the possibility of another cold snap next weekend with a chance of it extending into the following week. We might have had a very mild winter but I'm not sure how much of an advantage that is to a gardener. Now when we could do with some warmer weather, as we head into a busy time in the garden and greenhouse, it turns cold.
Over the last few months we've noticed that our goldfinches have been missing from the garden. On Sunday though we spotted a couple back eating sunflower hearts.
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I think I'd rather have a cold Winter followed by a milder Spring! Cold weather in Winter is normal (or at least it used to be), and is beneficial to perennial plants, giving them a period of proper rest. It also kills many of the pests. Right now we need more warmth please, and no more cold snaps. Goldfinches have been scarce in our garden too, but we have had some more unusual visitors too (for us that is), like Nuthatches and Greenfinches.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Mark on the benefits of colder winters. We haven't any Nuthatches in the garden but I did hear a greenfinch this morning. We have a chaffinch that's camera shy.
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