the winter winds in orkney

Wow, that was some wind, and you must have slept thru the storm? Your plants must be very hardy to survive a pummeling from the winter winds!

yes lorraine this is the reason trees are scarce here the wind and salt in the wind kills the tops of the trees and they start growing from lower down . it makes them distorted, so most decent sized trees grow in the towns where the buildings give them shelter from the wind. walls are needed round gardens if you want to grow much variety. however they still get a good battering

In East Anglia, the summer of 2008 seems to have been much more windy than in previous years.

Have you noticed the same in the Orkneys, Islander?

It'll be interesting to see whether the coming winter brings even more blowy conditions.

omg islander, an expensive lesson to learn having to replace all the panes in your greenhouse. still sounds like a beautiful place to live tho

You really must be a hardy soul to live up there, Islander! I know that I couldn't do it. I feel the cold and used to have Reynaud's syndrome all through the year until acupucture helped me. So when we were looking to retire from Kent and choosing an area, we came SW to be in a mild county. We still get a lot of winds here, as they come straight off the Atlantic, but NOTHING like you cope with! I do admire you. I'd love you to write a blog about how you choose what to grow in your garden and how the plants cope with your climate. Will you? Please?

I can't imagine what my garden would look like if we got winds that strong. Mind you in the heat we can get a sudden whirlwinds that takes loose objects metres into the air. I guess you have to adapt your planting very seriously to cope with those conditions in Orkney. Looking forward to seeing pics of how you have done this.

i bet the scenery and wild life make up for the winds.

Orkney is a lovely place to live, the air is fresh, the folks are friendly and crime is rare. However in winter you really need indoor hobbies as we have vey short daylight hours and when the wind does blow it is impossible to do anything outside. it rarely gets below freezing though because off the warming effercts of the gulf stream. but we are compensated in summer when daylight hours are very long, in june it seems to be light all the time, no sooner than the sun dips below the horizonthan you see it rising again,our growing season is about a month behind Englands, the wind can blow continously for weeks on end in winter,but in summer the weather is nice. it is warm but rarely gets too hot for comfort.
in the rural areas most gardens are just lawns, i think most people here dont realise just how many plants will grow and thrive here given a little protection. initially when i came here I planted whatever i saw doing well in other gardens, but this was very limited, no i just experiment. if I seee a plant I like I get it to try. Its surprising how many do survive the winters. I do get some failures of course

the wildlife on the isles consists mainly of rabbits and hares. there are a few otters but they are rarely seen,there ar no predators on the isles. it is a paradise for bird watchers with many species visiting and nesting here, the sea has probably the best wildlife. when we go out fishing we often see killer whales, sharks etc. the island of westray is famous for its puffin colony. there are also lots of seals

Are there Nurseries on the islands, or do you have to go to the mainland to find plants? Or the internet, of course? What do you grow as well as Fuchsias?

I heard one comment that winter lasts for ten months in the Orkneys followed by two months of bad weather! Sounds like that was a bit tongue in cheek?

must admit i would like a holiday up there. been quite a few places in Scotland.but always on the mainland. Love to go and see all the wildlife up there.

there is a garden centre in Kirkwall. it is a bit limited though
so i tend to buy over the internnet, or from catalogues. but most of my plants i grow from seed. As pointed out i grow more fuchsias than anything else, although i do plant anything that takes my fancy. at the moment in my greenhouse i grow black grapes, tomatoes,cucumber,lemons(crop average 1 lemon per year) i have a ornamental orange tree that fruits twice a year,sweet peppers chillies, aubourgines, and of course my fuchsias.
in the garden i have loupins,fuchsias broom(grown from seed), sycamore trees , dahlias, asparagus peas, cosmos pansies, violas, aquiligia and a host of other plants.
i grow gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, white currants,blueberries,raspberries,strawberries, jostaberries etc. each year I try new plants next year i intend to try goji berries after reading about them i believe they could do well here
and though we do have long winters i think that ten months is a wee bit exaggerated lol

we have the same strong salty winds here in pembrokeshire, all our trees lean to the east!!! but i think the wind off the irish sea is a bit warmer than yours in the winter!!

you are probably right sandra. by the way thank you for giving me the name of the daisy bush. i was asked about it and used your imfo

Thanks for sharing Islander sounds fascinating know I would love the wildlife but the wild life? You say you moved to Orkneys was that from mainland Scotland? Although in north east of England probably a soft southerner to you? Will think of what you have to contend with next time I complain about the weather.

The summers do sound great all that daylight.Killer whales puffins wonderful.

hi bonkers originally i came from NE scotland but b4 i came here i lived in manchester for thirty years, the weather was a shock for me when i first came, but after a couple of years you get used to it. now when I go south in summer i feel uncomfortably hot

Well I was born in south of England and moved here many years ago. Manchester to the Orkneys a bit more of a stretch though. Anything you miss?

miss a few things, markets i used to go to, the carboots and of course the lovely lancashire ladies,course fishing there are no course fish here just wild brown trout. there are plenty of things here to compensate for the things i miss though. do you miss anything from southern England?

Paul was very impressed with the Orkneys when he holidayed there some years ago; I am sure he would be making plans to repeat the experience if he were to read this thread.
I had imagined the temperature dipped below freezing quite often but I guess the wind chill factor makes it feel much colder. The idea of long days in summer is very appealing.

Great info islander,
My son is very interested, his favorite activities are photography, birdwatching and fishing, with gardening and cooking following behind a little, he has always been interested in the UK and I think would like to pay an extended visit to Britain and Ireland.
Now he thinks maybe some of the islands would be novel also. He is studying Commercial Photography at a local college right now, but I guess my own interest has worn off on him. I have always been an Anglophile.
Thanks again and keep it coming.

you are right xela the wind does make it feel very much colder. but living here you get used to the weather. I'm glad Paul enjoyed his visit

sounds a nice lad your son Wohlibull. got his head screwed on. nice to hear that he has such varied interests. I am sure he would love the isles if he ever makes it here.

Cant say I do miss much from the South as area I grew up in quite rural but eventually became part of commuter belt , land a premium and character lost as house prices went crazy.Have family there so return regularly to see them . Try to visit when bluebells out as that is a lovely sight through beech tree canopies.