Cold winters ... are others finding there are advantages?

As a bit of a soft southerner I must admit I did an awful lot of whinging about the cold and the snow this winter. However, I'm beginning to think that it had its advantages. A few borderline hardy plants got killed off (although I'm quite surprised by what did survive) but the cold seemed to kill off/delay a lot of pests as well. The slugs and snails are out there having a great time now, but their activities started much later than usual, so that early shoots which are normally eaten away to nothing as soon as they appear have had a chance to get away unimpeded. I'm sure there are fewer greenfly on the roses, too.

 

ClaraLow, I agree.
I don't have many buds on my roses yet but there again, I have not seen any greenfly just yet either.
Has anyone esle noticed how well the clematis are flowering?
Could it be that the hard winter does help our native plants in this country to come back with some vigour.

Maybe I'm just lucky right now, but I don't seem to have too many slugs either. I think that has got to be to do with the winter as well.

 

I agree. Far fewer slugs and snails in my garden this year, though that could be due to the all-out chemical warfare I've been waging on them for 4 years now!

But I've also seen fewer aphids.

Also I had a load of wasps visiting my garden a few weeks ago, but that seems to have stopped - I suspect they may have been out and about too early and were killed by the cold snap a week or so ago. Hurrah!

 

Also, I'm hapy to boast that I didn't lose a single borderline plant this winter. A couple I lifted and put close to the house in pots where the temperature is a little less harsh in winter, but most I just left in the ground without protection, and they were OK.

My only casualty was a Pelargonium that I overwintered in the house. In march, I put it out in my unheated greenhouse. Unsurprisingly, it died overnight. Stupid stupid stupid!

 

I lost a couple of borderline hardy plants, but have now decided that as I don't have a greenhouse, I am not bothering with them again and sticking to those that can handle winter outside!

I notice that plants seem to have rectified themselves this year - they are not blooming late, rather, the last few years have just seen them blooming too early. An example would be alliums which are always viewed as late Spring bloomers. The last few years have seen mine blooming in late April, this year they are only just in full flower now.

It seems that the garden is at least 2/3 weeks 'behind'. Or is that really on time?

 

The late frosts did for our frog and toad spawn this year, in our East Riding neighbourhood at least. I'm used to hundreds of tadpoles in our pond; this spring I have, literally, seen one so far.

Normally we are plagued with molehills by now. I've seen none hereabouts. Moles go deeper for winter; possibly, this winter, not deep enough.

I think all wildlife has suffered this winter, not just the things you label as pests. It'll recover, though.


Cheers
Richard