Sunday, April 20, 2008

Survivors

Saturday April 19th

To get a successful crop of vegetables from my small plots I have to make many considerations. Location, soil quality and temperature, companion plants, how to deal with the usual onslaught of pests etc.

But elsewhere in the garden, away from the well nurtured soil, it's a different world. Here plants and trees who want to survive have to tough it out and face the horrific onslaught that winter throws at them. OK, some things didn't make it this year.....


We lost the Flowering Dogwood, snapped in half......



.......and a Redbud tree.

But here are some who refused to lie down and die despite having the odds stacked against them........


Our Fuji Apple tree after the ice storm hit...........



......is now almost fully recovered.


The Willow, squashed flat by the sheer weight of the ice.....



...is slowly coming back to shape but will need assistance by staking and pruning.


The young Peach was crushed by this huge falling limb and lost a number of branches.......



.....but seems to be recovering well after a little TLC and a touch of "Tree Seal".


Chrysanthemums encased in ice........


.....are back for another go this year.


The herb garden was out all winter and froze solid at one time.
But, the Curly Parsley and Oregano are making a comeback........


......as is the Beacon Silver Lamium.


Nothing seems to deter the Creeping Phlox from sharing their spring colour.

Mother nature is a wonderful thing.




2 comments:

Barbee' said...

Whew! It's wild out there. We had a humdinger of an ice storm in '03 giving us two inches of ice on everything. I lost (or had damaged) many trees; I stopped counting at 40. It was awful; so I know what you were dealt and had to deal with.

Oh, guess I should tell you: I'm in bluegrass area of Kentucky (Lexington).

Mick said...

Yes it was a pretty sad day. My wife was almost in tears when the Flowering Dogwood went, it was her favorite. Never mind, we have 2 young replacements growing now. :-)

Thanks for calling in

Mick.