We had a blast of Winter last weekend. A sprinkling of snow last Saturday was followed by a proper dump on Saturday night/Sunday morning. There then followed three very cold days before we returned to ‘normal’ with a torrential downpour.
It used to be perfectly usual of course for Winter in the U.K. to include long spells of very cold weather, including weeks at a time with lying snow. These long cold spells do seem to have become less frequent. Last Winter for example, not only did we have no snow at all, we had very few days when we even needed to defrost the car first thing in the morning.
As gardeners, the absence of longish cold spells is problematic. A decent cold snap helps to keep pests and diseases under control. If we are to have more frequent wet, mild Winters, without decent cold spells, we are going to have to get used to new and more frequent problematic infestations. So, we were more than happy to endure the sub-zero temperatures for a few days. And of course, if you have no where you need to go, the snow does relieve the gloom of Britain in January!
Wharf House Gardener 