Melting

[maewyn_2]

Today was Perth's hottest March day on record - 42.4C  (108.3F).   There's good news - tomorrow is expected to be cooler at "only" 38.0C (100.4F)!

This was the daily maximum temperature for the last week:

Wed22.9Thur  22.8Fri 24.6Sat28.2Sun35.4Mon40.2Tue42.0Wed42.4
There's a real contrast here. The end of last week was quite cool - I wore a long-

Comments

[mechtild]

I had to put up a barrier (an old bag slit up one side and tied to a stake to shelter my maidenhair ferns. (...) Thankfully they've regenerated, and now I'm babying them!

Your plants must smile and sigh when they see you coming, Maewyn. I just love maidenhair fern. Maybe I'll get one. I could try and make it live indoors, even though the winter heating makes the house so dry inside.

P.S. This morning, March 6, the temperature is -16 C. It's risen a few degrees, though. It's supposed to "warm up" later this week, rising above freezing. Maybe rain. That I am not looking forward to. We need water terribly, but with two feet of snow out there, and earth to frozen to absorb any rain, it will all go down the storm sewers or create a lot of flooding.

[maewyn_2]

I've always loved maidenhair fern. I once had a very, very fine variety, called "babies tears". Unfortunately, it was far too delicate to survive in my garden. I don't have enough light in appropriate places in our house, so there's no point in trying one grow inside.

The trick, in your case, might be to plant a maidenhair in a terrarium. This would maintain the moisture that they need, and as long as it has enough light, it should thrive.

Not having any experience with living with ice and snow, I never realised that rain that could be "wasted" in such a way. I just assumed it would melt the snow and soak into the ground. See - you're educating me!

Today's temperature was lower (37.6C - close enough to 100F). It's lovely outside now at 23C, but inside it's 32C (almost 90F) - and I've got to sleep in it! Oh well, it'll get cooler soon!

[mechtild]

Thanks for the tips for growing a moisture-loving plant.

I suppose I shouldn't have said the rain would be "wasted", since it isn't, really. It will end up in Lake Superior, which is good since the water level has dropped alarmingly in this huge body of water during our long drought. But it would be "wasted" as water to saturate our own yards, I should say. If a melt comes slowly, the ground begins to defrost at the same time and more of the snow melt goes into the soil instead of running off into storm drains to streams and then to the lake. But, as I said, it's good to fill up the lake, too!

[maewyn_2]

I can understand that it would be rather irritating that your garden wouldn't benefit from the rain when it does come.

I'm amazed that plants can survive the ice and snow to regenerate. It's obvious of course that they've been conditioned to it for thousands (millions?) of years, but if their roots are frozen, how do they survive?

[maewyn_2]

It looks very cooling! A few months ago my husband and I travelled to the south-west, and there was maidenhair fern growing naturally in the damp forest. I'd have loved to have taken some home, but it's illegal to remove native plants, so it's still there!

With spring, you should get to see some green soon! I'm looking forward to autumn, and cooler weather.

[este_tangletoes]

Thank you, Maewyn, for the beautiful pictures and the-how-to-protect-your-plants gardening tips. I used to have one of those delicate maidenhair ferns in the Old Country. It looked lovely next to my Busy-Lizzies (though, to be quite honest with you - mine looked more like deady-weddies :D )

Here is a book I would like to recommend to both you and Mechtild.

‘The Gardener’s Year’ by the Czech writer Karel Capek (it was first published in 1929 and as far as I know it is still in print). It’s a charmingly written year-round gardening guide with illustrations by his brother Josef Capek. I have given this book to several of my friends, instead of flowers, on special occasions. Even those who do not possess a garden because it is so amusing.

[maewyn_2]

"Deady-weddies" !!! I've had my share of those too!

I Googled Karel Capek and "The Gardener's Year", and I found a couple of passages from the book. It's hilarious! One was the story of a gardener who went on holiday, and asked a friend to look in on his garden every three days or so. Then it ended up with the friend tearing his hair out because there were so many things to do in so little time that he just couldn't keep up!

Thanks for that! I'll have to see if it's available here.