Waking up to a lovely snowy scene is not what I usually expect to see in late February, but that's what I saw out the windows this morning.
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Cool-season greens and window boxes will still have to wait for warmer weather.
Showing posts with label global weirding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global weirding. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Global weirding
I wrote a piece ~ seven years ago about what North American gardeners (and botanists) thought about climate change for The Public Garden (at that time, the journal of the American Association of Public Gardens and Arboreta --AABGA, now APGA). It didn't end up being published, probably because it was too telling.
American botanical gardens are in denial about what they need to do around conservation and promoting sustainable gardening practices to the public, etc. This is true of American horticulture associations, too, I'm sorry to say, from Garden Writers Association to our network of Master Gardeners across the country.
At the time I wrote, we'd just emerged from a decade of severe drought in the Southeastern US, and there were significant floods in the west at that time, too. It was telling to hear from knowledgeable folks (from a number of different scientific backgrounds) across North America what they thought about this topic.
Since then, we've just continued to experience what I was thinking about and posted about in 2010 -- global weirding. The link is to a post from Feb. 19, 2010.
Normal is just getting more extreme than ever, it seems to me.
We're going to experience record lows for February here in the Southeastern U.S over the next couple of days. And record lows for the "high" temperatures, too, thanks to the strong polar air that's flowing down our way.
Hmm, isn't there something to learn about polar melting and a flood of cold air (aka polar vortex) down our way?
We've got a lot of adaptations to make as gardeners -- whether with native plants that support pollinators or in our vegetable gardens.
Personally, I'm ready to plant cool-season vegetables this spring. I've missed my winter kale and collards over the last two years, and I'd normally have started planted some early greens and peas by now. Not this year.
American botanical gardens are in denial about what they need to do around conservation and promoting sustainable gardening practices to the public, etc. This is true of American horticulture associations, too, I'm sorry to say, from Garden Writers Association to our network of Master Gardeners across the country.
At the time I wrote, we'd just emerged from a decade of severe drought in the Southeastern US, and there were significant floods in the west at that time, too. It was telling to hear from knowledgeable folks (from a number of different scientific backgrounds) across North America what they thought about this topic.
Since then, we've just continued to experience what I was thinking about and posted about in 2010 -- global weirding. The link is to a post from Feb. 19, 2010.
Normal is just getting more extreme than ever, it seems to me.
We're going to experience record lows for February here in the Southeastern U.S over the next couple of days. And record lows for the "high" temperatures, too, thanks to the strong polar air that's flowing down our way.
Hmm, isn't there something to learn about polar melting and a flood of cold air (aka polar vortex) down our way?
We've got a lot of adaptations to make as gardeners -- whether with native plants that support pollinators or in our vegetable gardens.
Personally, I'm ready to plant cool-season vegetables this spring. I've missed my winter kale and collards over the last two years, and I'd normally have started planted some early greens and peas by now. Not this year.
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Assessing climate impacts
Here in the Southeastern U.S., we've had a very usual year weather-wise. Way more rain than normal last summer, then bone-chilling cold in the winter.
It's made for some interesting losses and die-backs.
So, it was a reminder about how extreme our variations were over the past year to read this piece in the NY Times about the impact that extreme cold has had on midwest gardens. It's telling that some gardeners lost plants that had thrived for 30 years.
As gardeners, we always like to push the envelope, even those of us who are trying to be mindful of our regional conditions, but certainly these were exceptional variations, and maybe a portent of more fluctuations to come.
I gravitated towards being a gardener (and garden educator) as it was hopeful -- restoring landscapes and encouraging people to connect with nature. It's a nurturing and forward-thinking practice (vs. worrying about habitat loss, conservation challenges, etc.) -- this sort of news just makes me realize more that we need to keep planting as restoration gardeners interested in stewardship, too.
It's made for some interesting losses and die-backs.
So, it was a reminder about how extreme our variations were over the past year to read this piece in the NY Times about the impact that extreme cold has had on midwest gardens. It's telling that some gardeners lost plants that had thrived for 30 years.
As gardeners, we always like to push the envelope, even those of us who are trying to be mindful of our regional conditions, but certainly these were exceptional variations, and maybe a portent of more fluctuations to come.
I gravitated towards being a gardener (and garden educator) as it was hopeful -- restoring landscapes and encouraging people to connect with nature. It's a nurturing and forward-thinking practice (vs. worrying about habitat loss, conservation challenges, etc.) -- this sort of news just makes me realize more that we need to keep planting as restoration gardeners interested in stewardship, too.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Hmm, more snow and (potential) ice coming?
Yikes, this winter has been really strange.
The Prunus mume (that I saw starting to flower again last weekend) may be totally blasted.
At least the predicted temperatures are quite moderate.
The forecast is all about snow (and potential ice) and full of hyperbole about snowfall (I think because of all of the previous storms and severe temperatures this winter).
We could be inundated with snow and ice in the upstate of South Carolina over the next few days, or maybe not. We'll see.
It all depends on where the fronts collide, it seems.
At least I haven't planted any peas yet! I haven't even managed to get out and take soil temperatures or turn the beds. And my raised beds in the mountains -- hmm -- they'll be replanted totally from scratch -- I don't think any of the perennial herbs made it through the severe cold of January.
Hmm, seeing previous incarnations of spring planting is always encouraging. Here's an link to searches about previous blog posts about "spring vegetable beds."
My raised beds in the mountains and the piedmont at the moment look really sad. They're ready for change-outs. They're waiting for spring.
The Prunus mume (that I saw starting to flower again last weekend) may be totally blasted.
At least the predicted temperatures are quite moderate.
The forecast is all about snow (and potential ice) and full of hyperbole about snowfall (I think because of all of the previous storms and severe temperatures this winter).
We could be inundated with snow and ice in the upstate of South Carolina over the next few days, or maybe not. We'll see.
It all depends on where the fronts collide, it seems.
At least I haven't planted any peas yet! I haven't even managed to get out and take soil temperatures or turn the beds. And my raised beds in the mountains -- hmm -- they'll be replanted totally from scratch -- I don't think any of the perennial herbs made it through the severe cold of January.
Hmm, seeing previous incarnations of spring planting is always encouraging. Here's an link to searches about previous blog posts about "spring vegetable beds."
My raised beds in the mountains and the piedmont at the moment look really sad. They're ready for change-outs. They're waiting for spring.