… but no scans.
It’s been warm here, with many records broken last week at Binghamton, our closest official weather station. .
- On January 7th the high temperature of 59 broke the daily record. The old record was 57 degrees in 1998.
- Also on the 7th… the average temperature of 53 broke the daily record. The old record was 52 also in 1998.
- On January 8th the high temperature of 63 tied the record for the month and day. The temperature also hit 63 on that day in 1998. In addition to these two dates 63 degrees also occurred on January 25th 1967.
- Also on January 8th the low temperature of 54 was the warmest for the day. The old record was 39 in 1998. This low temperature was also the second warmest for January. The warmest was 57 set January 15th in 1995.
- On January 8th the average temperature of 59 broke the daily and monthly records. The old record for the day was 51 in 1998. The old record for the month of January was 58 on January 15th 1995.
- Finally on January 9th the high temperature of 56 tied the record for the day. The temperature previously hit 56 degrees on January 9th in 1998.
When it was like this last year, I wrote alarming articles about how global warming will affect your gardening. But now, no one seems too upset.
So Sunday was pretty nice, too. So I went out and took some pictures instead of hovering over the scanner like I usually do.
The ridge in January. Everything is kind of muted and somber with the still-low sun. Not the panic of June. But still many interesting things to see if you look.
Some bulbs poking through already.
There’s still some green around, you just have to look low and among the leaves, like for this Asarum patch.
Digitalis ferruginea, my favorite foxglove in part because of it’s nearly evergreen habit.
The hellebores have stayed green.
As have the lambsears.
And the pulmonaria.
There are some interesting red-browns going on out there, too. Heucheras …
and pitcher plants.
The beaves continue to be busy.
And I couldn’t resist a better image of the floating bowling ball from the midnight bowling ball incident.
The view of the ridge is spectucular, and a nice contrast to all the close ups of the frosted leaves of various plants. My garden is similiar in some respects, but maybe 10 degrees warmer on those record setting days, and oh, yeah, no ridge in view, just the rooftops of the neighbors’ houses.
It’s a good showing for Bloom Day in January, as it could have all been under snow!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
My heucheras are bitten down to nubs. You probably know as well as I do, that most of those green plants would normally be green this time of year anyway–just under a foot of snow.
I still subscribe to global weirding more than global warming. For every January thaw I believe there’s a tax day snow storm lying in wait to balance things out. In our area I don’t sanguinely believe we will truly jump to a warmer hardiness zone. No, we will lose more plants than ever to increasingly erratic weather.
I guess I am feeling grumpy because I spun out of control on a back road running from Nob Hill in Syracuse to Lafayette on the way home from my folks’, and only the grace of God kept me from smacking into telephone pole or fence. I drove off somebody’s snow-dusted lawn with no harm to me or my vehicle. (And no bowling balls were harmed, either!) I am actually quite grateful, but also more aware than ever how nature is a two-edged sword.
So glad you were unharmed in the spin out you mentioned above! I agree about the weird weather also. Late freezes here in Tennessee will eliminate many shrub blooms we depend on for spring color, as happened this year. We will see what survives and thrives. Already, no more hydrangea macros will be purchased. Loved the frosty photos!
Glad you’re OK Kathy.
I agree with you that on average, the changes in *climate* may only be a few degrees. But changes in *weather* are likely to be more dramatic — and that’s likely to make gardening more challenging.
That heuchera image is amazing, Craig. And oh, how cool that you have pitcher plants!
With other houses very close to ours there are no ridge views in my small yard, either, Craig, but I sure do like yours! The frosted leaves are beautiful – especially the asarum/ginger.
Thanks for the link to the previous story, which I’d missed. Your pergola ‘fix’ for the exposed corner was ingenious and the bowling ball was improved by its new configuration… when you have a good rain does the bar visually disappear so the bowling ball really looks as if it’s floating?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
What a lovely post, Craig. And my eagle eyes see that you’ve been holding out on us–you’ve posted about the beautiful blue bottle tree, but unless I miss something, this is the debut of the lovely bottle shrub a few feet away! (Or is that a stand of bottleflowers instead of a shrub?) 🙂
Nan: Those white spots on the heuchera are bits of frost, I guess forming on hairs or some other leaf structure. A friend in our local chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society raises pitcher plants (Sarracenia). I have them in a pot in the shallows of the water garden. They are really tough plants that require little care. The flowers are really interesting, too: http://www.remarc.com/craig/?p=178
Annie: The rusted rebar blends in with the leaves. Sometimes it gets covered with snow. But I have to use my imagination to make the bowling ball really float. I think most people just scratch their heads that there’s a bowling ball on a bent piece of rebar in my garden.
Kim: I did include a picture of it during summer about a year ago: http://www.remarc.com/craig/?p=52 But it’s mostly covered up during the growing season by verbascums or Scotch thistles. It’s acrually a mock flower sort of. The bottles on short poles around the outside are petals. The old marine drill bits are filament-like. And this fall, I added an old lamp fixture that’s kind of pistil-like. Again, it helps to have a vivid imagination.
Is that European Ginger? It can’t possibly be Asarum candensis & still look that good. Do the beavers cause any damage on your property? I think beavers are pretty neat, but then I don’t have any around my property.
MMD: Yes, European ginger. I’ve forgotten the species/variety, but I think I’ve got two different kinds there.
The beavers take down trees, especially the poplars adjacent to their pond. They won’t move too far from the safety of the water. Plus it doesn’t do them much good to drop trees far from where they need them. I’ve got one willow near the stream that I don’t want them to damage and am taking precautions to protect it.
Wonderful images – I think that Digitalis ferruginea is on my list of things to try this year (a seed order needs to go in soon!) – how nice that it stays (or mostly stays) evergreen for you. And the pitcher plants…gorgeous!
Great view and lovely pics but it’s clear that you have no outdoor blooms yet as it is much too cold where you live. Over here it is warmer than average, we have days of 10 C already, 5 C would be normal.
Loved the red and brown pic and it’s also very nice to see that spring is on its way in your garden too.
My blooms are up too and some of them are outdoors. 🙂
Great post. I love the bowling ball story. And the picture of the beavers at work, is that their huge pile of wood in the back of the picture? Amazing.
I love your walk and sitings! The bowling ball lives on in infamy! Frost is so very lovely isn’t it!
I really like your pitcher plant photo and the one of the ridge at the start. Your non-blooms are actually kind of refreshingly different on Bloom Day.
Ah–I remember that post now, Craig. I believe that I was so drooling over those cardoons that I completely forgot about the other blue bottles I was seeing. Sorry about that! *grin*
Hi there, Craig 😉
Great frosted winter shots. I love to see gardens like this especially with ornamental grasses too this really is when the foliage plants are the stars isn’t it 😀
My garden in Scotland and has had only very brief spells of frost and snow. Surprising I had a few blooms outside for this month! Your garden looks great at the moment 😀
My post is up too if you would like to visit 😀