Your little corner of the world
By beckerl
11 comments
As we all know, the climate that we live in dictates how we manage our garden. When I look over updates about GoY member’s gardens and what they are growing, I often wonder about the climate where they live. Will that beautiful flower that they are growing, grow where I live?
I don’t know if it has been done before, but I thought it would be nice if we all gave a little description about our own little corner of the world. I’ll get the ball rolling…..
We have a saying in Maryland, USA……“if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute”. To the west there are the Appalachian Mountains, and to the east the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. I live right in the middle of the mountains and ocean. Conditions can vary greatly from one end of the state to the other. Which, I think is pretty unique, considering that Maryland is such a small state.
Our summers are generally hot and humid. Temperatures average in the 80 degree range, but it is not unusual to have an extended period of time with temps above 90 degrees. The mountains protect us from the extreme storm activity, like tornados, that you see in the middle of the US. Although, we have had F1 tornados touch down from time to time. Our biggest storm threat in the late summer is hurricanes.
Winters can range from mild and dry, which was the case this past winter, to frigid and wet. It is possible to see single digit temperatures during the winter months. Temperatures below 0 degrees would be highly unusual. When we hear of a possible nor’easter in the winter, which is a storm coming up the coast from the south, it usually sends everyone into a panic. A nor’easter can mean a major snowfall for our area if all the conditions are right. It is possible to see snowfalls exceeding two feet in one of these storms.
Spring and fall is usually a beautiful time of year here. Temperatures are generally in the 60s and 70s during this time of year. But, again, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute! Because the weather is transitioning, there is always a threat of severe weather when a storm comes at us from the west.
That is a snapshot into my little corner of the world. I can’t wait to read about yours.
18 Apr, 2012
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Comments
I`m in Norfolk in the UK and the weather here is wet and windy today, some sunshine is trying its best to shine,feels chilly early spring was very warm but now it feels more like autumn.
18 Apr, 2012
I always hear that there is a lot of rain in the UK. Is that true?
18 Apr, 2012
Not true in recent months. Due to a couple of dry winters, a hosepipe ban is in force in many parts of England. April is bringing much-needed rain, but it will require lots and lots of downpours to fill the depleted rivers and reservoirs.
18 Apr, 2012
Wow! I had no idea, Terratoonie. We have been rather dry here, also, in the past six months or so. Last year there was more water falling from the sky than we really needed. We were hit with the effects of two hurricanes in the later part of the summer of 2011.
18 Apr, 2012
Numbty, did a little bit of reading on Norfolk. It looks like a very nice place. I would imagine that being close to the water impacts your weather.
18 Apr, 2012
Im in Cambridgeshire, neighbour to Numbty, 180* flat like the floor. Blasting winds & hot dry summers.
As you know I have family in Maryland & I have experienced all the extremes you mention Beckers. Loch Raven is superb in the summer as the trees give wonderful cool shade on those walks.
18 Apr, 2012
Bampy, my son just visited Loch Raven this past weekend. He took some wonderful pictures. I'll see if I can convince him to share them with all of you.
18 Apr, 2012
We live in the South of England, should be mild, we are five minutes from the Solent, over the past three years our weather has changed tremendously, winters used to be wet but not cold, now they are so cold that we have to fleece tender plants, or not even grow them........Spring started in late March, not any more.....all change so as TT says unpredictable, we even had a tornado one summer, while we were on the beach, very scary......
18 Apr, 2012
We live in North Durham, very close to the Penines (a range of hills called the backbone of England), our town is said to be the second highest in England. Our weather is unpredictable, we constantly have wind, get lots of rain, either blown across from West and atlantic, or in from the North Sea if we have easterlies!
We get lots of snow usually, this winter has been mild for us although we had 6" of snow a couple of weeks ago, but it soon melted. Last year we had several feet of snow from Novemebr to March.
18 Apr, 2012
Not too dissimilar geographically from your area, Beckerl. Cordillera Cantabrica mountain range running along 25 kms inland from the northern coast; Picos de Europa a small part of that range; local town 11 kms away at the confluence of three valleys; 'our' valley - Liebana - eventually rises to 1,349 masl and appears to have its own microclimate - when other nearby places have bad weather - you can bet it's sunny in the Liebana Valley! But not lately! Rain, rain and more rain, interspersed the other day with a snowfall that thawed after a couple of hours. Locals say generally we have mild winters (definitely experienced) but the last two were bitter! Springs are generally quite wet, Summers are hot, dry and stormy, Autumns linger into November.
The two main problems I have with trying to grow anything is altitude (700 masl) and stones in the earth! We live on a mountain so we have tons of the stuff! But I wouldn't be anywhere else - I love it here! :o)
19 Apr, 2012
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Great blog. I'm in the UK, so "unpredictable" is the name of the weather game here ;o)
18 Apr, 2012