What a fool! I left the Kaffir Lime outside in that -5.7C we had; it was happily shooting new sprigs in December. I'll have to watch it now but it doesn't look good. We got everything else in to the conservatory, but that was in the front garden and I forgot.

Further back, I think - it's in Laurie Lee's autobiography as a well-known country saying in the 1920s

Spent ages in the garden pulling out weeds yesterday- the frosty spell didn't seem to do much damage to them, or the slugs, which are busily gnawing at my crocuses.

As we're into a new year I think I'll lock the old thread and move this upto the top on a "sticky".

The old thread hasn't been lost I've moved it to the TWO Classic's thread.

Yeah sorry llamedos; I didn't know what the agreed protocols were when I started this one - just saw other threads being restarted & wanted to inspire some posting so please accept apologies. Your thread!

Regards

Bertie

No problem with you opening a new thread Bertie , it's just we don't need two threads running in parallel which is why I archived the previous one.

Glad I brought my Orange Lime bush in from the Growing Room when I did befer the frosts.   Now have TWO fruits on it...

Well done Art; I mentioned earlier that I'd overlooked our Kaffir Lime; it's probably had it but we'll nurture its pot until spring. It got wet as well as cold. We do appreciate what it provides as we cook Thai food a lot.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/747/Akebia-quinata/Details

Here's another first for this amazing season in the garden.

Our akebia (see above) is flowering. End of March 2012 is the earliest I can remember although I'll admit this one's not on my flowering diary list. The thing about this is it's not just a rogue flower (as in 2012)- the whole climber is bursting forth.

I prefer it from May onwards when the scent on heady summer evenings is hard to match-more evocative than jasmine even.

Several clumps of snowdrops now nodding delicately under the fruit trees on our woodland bank; they're braving this dungy weather with a sparkling white grin!

Time to get the broad beans in once tonight's frost has passed; the early, hardy sort seem to fight off the blackfly better later on.

Cowslips, pulmonaria and celandines in profusion along the woodland bank, looked odd covered in thick frost yesterday.

I'm impressed as the sun must still be at a low angle. Does your maritime location keep the worst of the frosts away, Skreever?

Was on a birdwalk last Monday - every month through the winter - and we parked ourselves out of the wind on a grassy bank for picnic lunch. Sun so warm that in minutes the outer layers of Goretex were being shed and definitely a wee touch of the sun visible by evening ( might have been windburn though😎).

Just been down to check the bees. Farm road a mess and the ground in the apiary is still saturated. 7degC and a light NNW wind, but sunny and bright and a few keen bees were flying. All hives are alive, active and taking supplementary feed [fondant]. What they want now is spring so they can fetch in some pollen. There are plenty of flowers out in the garden if only they can get here. I saw a bumblebee pass by a window here at midday - White-tailed at a guess.

Roger

As a matter of interest, how close to the coast are you? How far inland can damaging salt-laden winds reach?

I'm about 350 yards from the beach at Scapa Flow.  The salt wind can cover the entire island - not worth washing salt-caked windows as the rain will do it soon enough.  
You're never more than about 5 miles from the sea in Orkney, the result being that growing shelter is important for gardeners.  The islands were wooded once - in the Neolithic era - but our ancestors chopped most of the trees; then the climate cooled in the Bronze Age and suddenly growing crops  became a tougher proposition.

Disappointing display of crocuses this year; 500 or so came up last year and we planted another 40 in the autumn. Although about 50 have made it to bloom so far, and there are more waiting, probably 90% of these have been purple. The white, yellow, popcorn and other colours we have, have been distinctly lacking.

That's really interesting. I'm a good ten miles or so inland so obviously I have no such problems. Mostly around here , a mile or two from the coast and you're quite safe from salt damage and trees and bushes will avoid that wind-blown look. With shelter,  you'll have woodland right down to the sea in favoured spots. Not too common though as we've also been successful in denuding our landscape of trees....

Escallonia types often make really good, decorative but functional hedging- additional shelter from those brisk salties. I don't know about Olearia- is that a shrub, perennial, something else? I could look it up I suppose. (Being lazy)

Also known as New Zealand holly - so I believe. Should be easy to find in a garden centre - mine all came from local gardeners.  New Zealand flax also pretty tough - once again from local gardeners. A blackthorn hedge I planted is now beginning to thrive after 5 years - it takes that long for the roots to develop and everything to settle down.

That's a great plant Skreever- thorns for nests, flowers for bees, berries for sloe gin. What an investment!