The weather has been wintery since last Thursday; it seems unusual to have such a long period of cold temperatures in March but I don’t think that is true, it can snow in this part of Italy in March!
So it is lucky I didn’t have time to plant some of the tomatoes out as I had intended, fortunately the sunflowers are tougher than I suspected and are still alive, but they haven’t grown at all this week. On Monday night the temperature in the greenhouse fell to 2.8° C and there was frost on the solar panel, which it has to be said seems to have frost on it when nothing else does, there must be some logical reason for this but nothing springs to mind.
The cooler days mean that there aren’t yet as many Eschscholzia californica as might be expected, and they only open their faces when there is sun so this week most have remained furled when they do open the bees are happy.
I am always a little surprised by the Muscari; when they the first colour appears I am always disappointed as they seem less than impressive but then slowly more flowers open up the stem and the colour becomes more intense and then they go on and on giving so much more than say the crocus which are over in a trice.
The usual view, you can see how dark it is today!
Eschscholzia californica with Muscari and Euphorbia
Eschscholzia californica with thyme which is about to open its buds
Eschscholzia californica
Eschscholzia californica with prostrate rosemary, which flowers for at least 3 months
Looking up
Solanum jasminoides ‘Album’
Cerinthe major
The wild irises are just opening
Diana at Elephant’s Eye on False bay said that they were thinking of a fire because it was winter if that is the case it should be summer here but instead I’m going to light a fire this evening too! Is it spring-like weather where you are? Or autumn? Or still winter? My awareness of other climates has increased enormously since I have been reading gardening blogs worldwide; it makes me appreciate the climate here even when we have a cold grey week as this has been. The colour has been lifted by the colour of opening tulips and I even saw some red European poppies on the road verge this week.