Beastly weather in Bracknell

I think we had the same amount as you Andrew, we thought we would only get a light covering.....
At the moment it is raining, so hopefully that will be the end of it.....

At least you won't need to water your pots, they have a reservoir of moisture on the top! Raining here now too.

Oh look another blog with colour coordinating tubs and beds, aren't we all clever this year, I know its no joke really but what else can we do.....Our temps aren't rising much at the moment Andrew but we do have a predicted temps rising during next week, think our rain is supposedly coming on Monday, that hopefully will see an end to the snow....

I'm sure it was warmer than forecast out there today. It certainly felt a lot warmer without the easterly wind. A very fast thaw has set in, and now rain. By Monday, I think this will all be a bad dream.

We escaped fairly lightly, light coverings, cold winds and then howling wind blowing what we did have everywhere! Like you all rain forecast which should get rid of the rest, but will the ground be able to absorb yet more rain, or are we back to a mud-fest?
You have obviously been busy, all those pots neatly in a row waiting for Spring!

I hope, like us, your garden is snow-free now Andrew. Oh I just saw the final photo ... all gone! Do you protect Maureen from the elements at all?

I know it didn't last too long, but, it was most unpleasant especially the wind, I was walking around with 4 layers on!! and that was in the house! worst winter in the 19 years we have been here.....hopefully all over now, she says optimistically..... everything the ponds etc all back to normal.....

Mega thaw has set in here today, it was very foggy which actually did help, no rain yet but it has been forecast for us, not as clear as your garden Andrew but I can see Hellebores and a fair amount of greenery, we are getting there, to say I am pleased is an understatement...Oh I forgot to say, the birds are having a field day scratching around and finding some earth to forage in...

We still have a lot of snow but as with you, Andrew the snow is beginning to thaw. I'll be glad to get back to normal. It took me over an hour to clear the drive to get the car out.

Nice to see the sun shining on your shrubs anyway Andrew!
Its great that the snow's gone! I still have a very sore wrist from a fall on the ice when I was trying to dig a safe path for the postman - who didn't come after all...
I guess we'll all be hoping never to have to experience wind chill temps like those again!

Shirley - no, Maureen is pretty tough.
The two bears, Bruno and Barney are no more though. They finally rotted last year, but I have ordered replacements who should arrive next month. Then they will need to be trained! :-)

Good news for Maureen ... now you will need to name the new bears!

It will be Bruno and Barney again. The original ones came from Derwent Bay Bears who name them according to the model - a bit like cars?

I find this blog interesting because if anyone is struggling with a garden plan to improve their patch in the spring........
Terracotta bricks make a warm design for winter days.

Diane - one thing to note, you need to use engineering bricks for the top course. Ordinary bricks are porous and alternate freezing and thawing will cause them to crumble.

Kettering Bricks are the hardest ones in the country. These flats were built from recycled local bricks. My pictures hang on steel pins that only penetrated 5/8 of an inch into the plaster ! Its a marvel they have stayed in place 18 years.
Neighbour's dad brought an electric drill to Rawlplug the
walls, and they broke the drill !
Incidentally, did you deliberately leave the Runner Bean
poles in, or are they for Sweet Peas ?

Andrew, I looked at the Derwent Bay Bears website and really would love to have so many of their creations! Very clever carvings ...

Runner bean poles? Where?

Oh gosh. It must have been someone else's photo.
Sorry. I look at them all.

Andrew, what a nuisance isn't it, the snow drifted here, they say the snow insulates the plants to protect from frost don't they, every cloud .......

I’ve just had a pond built didn’t know about the brick thing! Do I need to put another course on top? I’ve just put a photo on my page

SK - ordinary bricks will last a few years but will gradually deteriorate from the freezing/thawing I mentioned. It depends on how long you want your pond to look good. You can either replace the top course of bricks when they get too bad, or have a top course of engineering bricks which are harder and resist the weather better.

Thanks Andrew my husband is going to put some coping bricks or engineering bricks on top, now to get some plants in!