MIKE BYFORD's GARDEN

4th April 09

Starting to feel spring like again - geraniums growing well

golden hop sending up lots of shoots - but seems to have crept
had to dig out and snip off lots of runners


















































climbing hydranger getting bigger every year
lots of new growth showing






















wisteria not yet out - some buds appearing























red robin - looking red !!

elderberry has loads of new shoots - have
to keep it under control - not sure whats
happened to climbing rose, it's hiding ?






















yellow bush needs a trim





















just cleaned out pond of stinking muck,
and cleaned pumps - put in some anti blanket
weed juice- lets see if it works






















rockery slowly coming to life - seems to
have aquired a foxglove























grasses looking heathly after the hard winter






























woodland area looking good - no sign of hostas
yet























more woodland plants sprouting












































mock orange shooting



























































north facing border -





















lupin & clematis growing good






















amazed at how this border has survived the
bad winter - mind you I did try and choose
plants that like wet, cold, damp, shade, blah blah
blah























moved the log thingy to this corner which
always seems a bit bear in the summer going to get small low planters for ledges so drape over
the edges





















dog wood looks lovely this time of the year with the vibrant green new leaves against the red stems




























got these on special offer - 4 bags for a tenner with my abercorn voucher - should be enough for my
hanging baskets & tubs




















APRIL 09 weather

Plenty of fine settled weather with warm days, especially in the first and third weeks. Some rain too, mainly showery and across the south-west. Cool and misty at times along the east coast. Overall, the month was warmer, drier and sunnier than average, particularly over East Anglia and parts of south-east England. Provisionally it equalled the third warmest April in a series from 1914, but was not as warm as April 2007 (ranked first).

1st to 5th: A fine settled start to the month with high pressure close by, although a front moving east did give a little rain during the early hours of the 4th. Warm days, with maximum temperatures 17 to 19 °C over parts of the south and south-east, were followed by chilly nights with a touch of frost. Topcliffe (Yorkshire) recorded -3.3 °C on the 5th.

6th to 17th: During this period fronts from the Atlantic moved into the UK and often became slow-moving, occasionally returning westwards. Spells of rain or showers affected all parts but much of the rain was light with some drier interludes. However, heavy showers occurred over East Anglia on the 11th and thundery showers affected the south-east later on the 14th, with heavy rain in Cornwall and parts of Devon. The 15th was quite wet with heavy rain and thunderstorms over some central and western areas. Plymouth (Devon) recorded 33 mm from midnight to midnight. During the 16th and 17th pressure gradually rose from the north with drier conditions slowly extending southwards, although on both days outbreaks of heavy rain affected central and southern areas.

18th to 24th: A return to settled conditions as high pressure over the north continued to extend southwards. As with the settled spell at the beginning of the month, warm days were followed by chilly nights with local ground frost. Temperatures approached 21 °C in London on three consecutive days from the 21st to 23rd. In sharp contrast the east coast was much cooler with north-east winds from the North Sea. On the 19th and 20th these restricted temperatures to 8 or 9 °C along the Norfolk coast, where it remained misty.

25th to 30th: An unsettled end to the month. A small but quite intense area of low pressure developed close to south-west England on the 25th giving gale-force winds and heavy rain over parts of Cornwall, with localised flooding; 56.8 mm was recorded at St Mary's (Isles of Scilly) overnight 24th/25th. Heavy showers also affected other western areas, with thunderstorms developing over northern parts. Further rain affected the south-west on the 26th with heavy rain and showers affecting all parts for the remainder of the month. Although eastern areas continued to be quite warm during the day, it became generally colder, with a widespread ground frost and local air frost over southern parts early on 28th when Yeovilton (Somerset) recorded -1.0 °C.