[JTh]

It has been a tough winter here in northern Greece, with temperatures below -10 degrees C for long periods. Most of my potted plants are dead, as well as all my Pandorea jasminoides, I had six or seven which I have had for several years; they were grown from seeds I found in Mallorca in 2011. There were several large seedpods left on the dead branches, but the seeds are most likely killed by the frost as well. Luckily, I still have two of the seedlings in Norway which are still alive, but I wonder how to transport them to Greece, they are quite big.

Both Plumbago auriculata bushes and all the Echium candicans plants I had, are dead as well. I am particularly sad to see that none of the Salvia discolor plants I had propagated from cuttings from a plant I brought to Norway from Sparoza some years ago didn’t survive, but luckily, I still have the ‘mother’ plant on my window sill in Norway, and I brought several rooted cuttings with me in my suitcase this time.

I haven’t seen a single eucalyptus tree that has survived in the area, and almost all the palms are dead; it was probably a combination of the palm weevil and the frost that killed the palms. Luckily, I never planted any of these.

On the other hand, the lavenders, Teucrium fruticans, Gaura lindheimeri are fine and one of the Phlomis fruticosa I had started from seed is soon flowering for the first time this year. Seeing the Judas tree (Cercis siliqastrum) in full bloom on arrival a few days ago made me forget most of what I had lost this winter. The pink-purple combined with bright yellow is probably not something I would plan on purpose, but it's OK to let Nature decide evey now and then.



P4116011.jpg by Jorun Tharaldsen, on Flickr

[Umbrian]

Lovely to see members responding with shared thoughts and photographs from their gardens.
Sorry to hear you have lost things this winter Jorun - it is always sad when a long cared for plant suddenly goes. We did not have a really hard winter but certainly colder than for quite a few years and I too lost a few favourites - Solanum rantonnetii and Russelia equisetiformus being the most mourned. I was protecting three Russellia - all in pots - one large one and a smaller one of my own and another quite small one for a friend who is not here in the winter. The large one succumbed much to my dismay as it was beautiful but the other two are just  about surviving. The Solanum had been in situ in the garden for 3 years and despite dying back to the ground each winter had always sprung back to life in the spring. Last year it reached a height of 7ft and was spectacular all summer....it will leave a big gap and be sorely missed........
I rather think I have lost a Plumbago too which is strange as we have had much colder winters through which several plants have survived.......

[Charithea]

It is always annoying when loved plants die. Ours have not suffered from the cold this year but  from prolonged  heat and little water. Our 2 moschata rosa plena which flowered last year did not established good roots and died. My sister's had the same fate. I have to scout around the place again to see if I can find a replacement. The single moschata is doing fine but it is not as beautiful. Other roses died too and one of the Quisqualis indica is giving up the ghost. However with the rains the Ajuga has recovered and we even have a Cerinthe flowering nicely.  My  Salvia Anthony Parker a gift cutting from David D from Rome is  growing. Gaura lindheimeri Joron and I don't seem to get along.  We get a few flowers and when the heat comes they leave. There are a few seedlings growing now so we shall see. I have taken some more photos of blue flowers but they never look as blue as they really are.

[JTh]

Lovely salvias, Charithea.

I was surprised to see that both plumbagos were dead, but that the newly-planted Callostemon planted between them was OK. In general, the 'indigenous' plants have had no problem, all my olive trees look very healthy, and judging from the flowering, a good crop is possible if everythin goes well. And all the roses I have look healthy, so far, I'm just waiting for the first insect attack.

[David Dickinson]

Just sorting out some things in my garden. Difficult to say so far how badly things went but some things are gone forever. We didn't get to -12 but we did hit -6°C. Euphorbia candelabrum held on until the very last and has left one little piece behind to pass on into this year and, hopefully, years to come.

[Umbrian]

Freezing weather conditions from the Arctic are affecting Italy as would appear to be the case for many parts of Europe. Temperatures were forecast to drop well below freezing this week with Tuesday night possibly recording -12C. I have had a small unsophisticated "greenhouse" of the type favoured here by the many people who only have quite small balconies on which to indulge their passion for growing plants. It is of tubular construction with a plastic cover and can be easily dismantled when not required. They are mostly small upright models with three or four shelves but this year I managed to find a lower and longer version that is more adapted to my needs.
Although it was already in use and packed with pots of more tender plants, recently rooted cuttings and "lodgers" - plants left with me for overwintering by friends who do not " overwinter" in Italy - I thought I ought  to take further precautions. It stands against the back of the house on the patio and so I further insulated the bottom with sheets of polystyrene, packed some at the sides and pushed some small old cushions between the larger pots. Having closed the polythene cover I further insulated that with a covering of bubble wrap carefully pegged down along the top and tucked under bricks along the bottom - ready as as could be for the big freeze.
Tuesday night was indeed very cold but I was furious with myself when realising I had left my thermometer safely tucked in with the plants where I had been keeping it to check on overnight temperatures. With temperatures obviously still well below freezing throughout the day I was loath to disturb my extra protective efforts and so have left well ( I hope) alone. By the weekend the icy conditions are forecast to be over so I shall have to be patient before investigating. At the moment it is snowing heavily - another cause for vigilance as excess weight of snow could mean the whole structure collapses.....

[Alisdair]

It sounds as if you've taken magnificent precautions against the cold, Carole. As you say, snow is a particular worry, especially if it's wet - if it's dry and powdery, which it might be in this cold, you may be able to brush it off. Here in Sussex a few years ago Helena's big double-span commercial-type polytunnel, using the heavy two-inch steel tubes that you see in scaffolding, collapsed under a very heavy fall of wet snow (it was an extraordinary sight!).
Good luck! Do let us know how your plants fared.

[David Dickinson]

Unlike most gardeners I am a late riser and so I am just about to go out into what is left of my garden to see just how bad the situation is. My bedroom is piled high with plants in pots and freshly sprouted seedlings all inside transparent Ikea storage boxes to ensure that slugs and creepy crawlies are not introduced into my bed!

Some of the Salvia seedlings have got wilt and will not survive.

One success story might turn out to be Haloragis erecta. It survived the summer heat as a seedling. Some watering. At the height of the freeze I opened up a tap to full bore . Attached to the tap is a watering hose but the seal isn't perfect so a little trickle of water comes out. Just enough to stop the pipe from bursting, so I thought. And it was. But the plastic watering tube decided to burst while I was at work thus releasing the full flow of water from the tap in a giant fountain gushing up into the Cypress tree. So I had a Christmassy effect of icicles hanging from the tree and Haloragis erecta covered in frozen droplets of water. Fearing the worst, I dragged the plant into my kitchen and left it to thaw out. It seems fine. So from 40°C in the summer to -6°C in winter, a very wet -6°C at that, it has shown no signs of damage. Might be a recommendation as a very attractive foliage plant. See MGS seed bank (Thanks, as always Chantral) (And NZ, of course for evolving the plant in the first place).

[Alisdair]

David, What a story - and you may be a late riser but you've certainly got that fundamental gardener's ability to look on the bright side!

[Umbrian]

Commiserations David - hope no permanent damage done.
The temperatures have risen here in Umbria both by day and by night - above freezing last night and  incessant rain has seen off the snow - but  yesterday we had an afternoon thunder storm with hail and so the garden continues to suffer although the early Narcissus seem unperturbed and give welcome splashes of colour to an otherwise dreary outlook
After heavy rain all morning and into the afternoon today, the clouds moved away and I took the chance to open my rather primitive greenhouse both to give it an airing and see how things had fared. Thankfully all seems well but after only about half an hour I was closing it again as more dark clouds gathered. With such great fluctuations in temperatures I cannot  allow the pots to become over wet. Always on guard us gardeners.
Whilst on my way to the shops this morning I was sad to see two large Mimosa trees, that were already in flower, looking decidedly brown.......I would imagine the large specimen I left in my old garden, situated at a much higher elevation than where I am now, has suffered a similar fate.

[Umbrian]

Two days of sunshine and the first flowers have opened on some of my newly acquired Narcissus. The tiny buds survived snow, freezing temperatures and, worst of all, two hailstorms. Unfortunately the pen I used on my labels turned out not to be waterproof but I think these earliest ones are " Golden Bells"