Weather 2011

[McDonough]

Who doesn't love talking about the weather, particularly us plant-sensitive types, so I'm kicking off the Weather 2011 thread

With a gentle 2"-3" (5-7.5 cm) topping of fresh snow, I waded out in waist-deep snow to snap a few photos.  The new snow was the sticky type, beautifully serving to trace tree and shrub branching.  Here are some of my favorite woodies:

Magnolia 'Golden Gift' - one of the few truly compact small Magnolia treasures, aptly named when spring display of small golden flowers rolls around.  It has short leaf and bud internodes, creating a finely branched canopy compared to most magnolias.




The Sourwood Tree, Oxydendrum arboreum. Note that the persistent weeping panicles of seed capsules near the top of the tree.




Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite' with "snow bobs" sitting on top of open star-shaped seed capsules.




Katsura Tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, a 20 year old tree in fine tracery.




Acer griseum growing near my deck, approximately 16 years old




Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus, about 12 years old.  The snow tracery shows to good effect the results of experimental pruning on this unwieldy grower.  A favorite tree of mine, it does have the bad habit of long rangy growth without good branching and bud internodes. However, taking the pruners to the tree and boldly cutting branches where no leaf internodes are visible, will result in new growth points and finer branching... it is now becoming a handsome specimen.

[WimB]

Wow, Mark.

That looks cold. Snow's gone here, although in Belgium one never knows, it might snow again in April or so.

Beautiful pics btw. Which reminds me I still have to buy that wonderful yellow Magnolia which is covered in snow.

[Hoy]

Mark, you really have gotten a good old style winter! It's like I remember from my childhood in Oslo many, many years ago! They have that much snow in Oslo now but I'm not there
The next time I'll experience such snowcovered landscape will be in March when we are planning a holiday at our mountain cabin

[RickR]

Nothing can match the natural silence after a snowfall like that, except the musical tinkling of ice crystals falling with a gentle breeze.  Photos can never capture the real wonderment, but those are close.

A nice Japanese Katsura.  Is it male or female?  (I will guess female.)

----------------------------

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Squarrosa Lutea'
(with a few twigs of my Japanese Katsura intruding on the left)

           

And isn't it amazing how flexible Chamaecyparis wood can be?
This tree is actually twice as wide as you see here.

[Paul T]

Very cool snow pics. (no pun intended)  So very different to here.

[cohan]

Nice images, Mark-- I love trees in their 'white phase'
here's an image from here, not too long ago..
Unlike so many places with extreme or troublesome winters, ours has been well within the range of what we are used to and equipped for.
We've had a couple of sets of colder than average weather-- much of December, and the next two weeks are set to be cold, but nothing like the maximum lows we could have--we haven't even hit -40 (same C/F), though close a couple of times, but only for a day or so at a time..
Still, winter is far from over here, first wildflowers not expected till the end of April at the earliest..

[McDonough]

Hi Cohan, glad you made it over here, a hearty welcome to the NARGS Forum! We had a bit of a teaser yesterday and today; almost 60 F each day, snow melting like crazy, but since it is so deep and hard pack, there is still plenty left.  Even on the sunny south side of the house, where snows abates earliest, and where snowdrops and crocus are planted, there is still a thick mantle of snow/ice.

Indoors, I have few plants but the Nothoscordum felipponei I showed in flower previously is forming seed pods after I hand pollinated.
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=24.msg5763#msg5763

We were supposed to get deep cold and snow this weekend, but the forecast changed, while it'll still be wintery, the sun is here for at least a couple more days, here's the latest.

[Todd Boland]

Cohan, I expect I will have as much snow as you show, in April..with nearly 5 feet on the ground, no flowers of any type are likely to be bloming here in April, unless there is a drastic thaw.

Sitting in my brothers house in Calgary where, at the moment, there is a light dusting of snow falling.  -10 C but expected to drop to -20 C this evening and stay cold the rest of the week.  At least back home in St. John's might be tons of snow, but the temps are hovering around 0 C.  -10 C is too cold for me, let alone -20!

[cohan]

Cohan, I expect I will have as much snow as you show, in April..with nearly 5 feet on the ground, no flowers of any type are likely to be bloming here in April, unless there is a drastic thaw.

Sitting in my brothers house in Calgary where, at the moment, there is a light dusting of snow falling.  -10 C but expected to drop to -20 C this evening and stay cold the rest of the week.  At least back home in St. John's might be tons of snow, but the temps are hovering around 0 C.  -10 C is too cold for me, let alone -20!

Since moving back here in 07, I have been watching more TV news than I ever have as an adult--the (only?) positive outcome of which is that I know more about the weather in various places--less since CBC stopped doing comprehensive national weather nightly; It might be just the luck of the last couple of years, but often I feel we are fairly lucky in my region--definitely a looong winter to endure, and sometimes the summer isn't much (in terms of exotic heat loving vegetables etc, anyway! the natives of course don't mind, and I suppose alpines wont) but we have very little traumatic weather--few storms that do damage in summer or winter, not much around that could flood, I'm not in a usual fire zone etc--and most of the cold we do get is well within norms our buildings and clothing can handle, so overall, I wont complain
And I did not move back from 'balmy' Toronto for the weather (apart from more winter sun here), so I determined at that time I would not complain about temperatures here...lol

[Hoy]

Watch this! (From Finnmark, the northernmost county in Norway)

http://vimeo.com/21294655

And here are the result of much rain last night. This is not far from here (inland) - the snow has started melting in the rain!

http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/hordaland/1.7560946

[cohan]

Spring? in Central Alberta..
full album:  https://picasaweb.google.com/cactuscactus/April022011Spring#

Our parking area at home this afternoon, after yet more shovelling...



Philadelphus showing it can be covered in white more than once a year!



and a few shots from our drive to town today.... the back roads

   

the highway

   

and in town

[Hoy]

Cohan, a familiar sight - when I drive through the mountains

[cohan]

Maybe this is encouraging for my future rock gardens-- I seem to have alpine climate 

[McDonough]

Maybe this is encouraging for my future rock gardens-- I seem to have alpine climate 

Cohan, there is a certain "winter artistry" to those winter-in-spring views, but I suppose you're tired of the snow by now, I know I would be.   True spring weather will arrive soon enough.

[cohan]

Thanks, Mark--I do find winter is often pretty--thank goodness, as its so long here! I am about ready for some 'live' plants outdoors, but apart from being exhausted from a long winter of shovelling snow and cutting firewood, I don't let the weather bother me too much--it won't help! And when I moved back home from Toronto, I knew I was heading for a longer winter, and determined not to worry about it...
So, if we could just get to snow that melts without shovelling, I'd be fine...lol