1st January 2022 and at 14ºC in North West England it’s been unseasonably mild – more like Easter Sunday than New Year’s Day. I won’t deny that this made our trip to the allotment to repatriate the Christmas tree all the more pleasant. However, I don’t need to be a climate scientist to appreciate that over the course of my 45 year lifetime the UK climate has palpably changed. The long, cold winters of my childhood are a distant memory and anomalous weather such as this is becoming ever more ‘normal’. If all that meant was a few more Spring-like days to bring relief from the bleak mid-winter I’m sure none of us would complain. We have known for some time though that the effects of global warming will become ever more profound and damaging.
Continue readingOur Tiny Garden: December 2020
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So here we are at the end of this long and peculiar year. This is the last of twelve blogs capturing the changing seasons in our tiny garden with 20 photos each month. At times it’s been a welcome distraction, though I have to admit to losing my way a bit with it mid-way through the year! Still, it is nice to have an account of the gardening year to look back on. I am, more than ever, thankful to have a garden of any size and an interest in what goes on there. It has definitely been a year for hobbies and it is great to hear that so many people have discovered the joys of gardening as a consequence of our enforced time at home.
Continue readingOur Tiny Garden: November 2020
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The generally wet Autumn weather continued throughout November with everywhere muddy under foot. The second full national lockdown was in effect throughout the month in an effort to control spiralling cases of Covid-19 in the vain hope it would make things better for Christmas. In the garden the last leaves dropped from the tree and turned to brown and the majority of flowers had faded. Occasionally, weakening Autumn sun would emerge from behind the clouds and brighten the day.
Continue readingOur Tiny Garden: October 2020
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October delivered plenty of rain though with occasional glimpses of sun to accentuate the Autumn colours. We managed to get away for a week to the Peak District which provided a welcome break from the now well established routines of our pandemic disrupted year. Between the weather and the holiday, time spent in the garden was limited but I still managed to capture a few images.
Continue readingOur Tiny Garden: September 2020
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September delivered the last hurrah of summer with some lovely warm weather and dwindling opportunities to dry washing outside, as it gave way to more Autumnal temperatures. Many of the flowers that had carried us through the summer months were starting to fade but I added a few late additions to extend the season.
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